An unusual cause of hydropic gallbladder and biliary colic--heterotopic pancreatic tissue in the cystic duct: report of a case and review of the literature.

We present herein an unusual case of heterotopic pancreas in the cystic duct with hydrops of the gallbladder and concomitant chronic pancreatitis of the heterotopic tissue. A review of the relevant literature is discussed following the presentation of this case.

High-resolution microscopy of lung and intrathoracic tumors.

Effective chemotherapy is available for many types of lung tumors; however, to select the most appropriate regimen, precise classification is essential. The most important differentiation is that between small cell and non-small cell anaplastic carcinoma. It is also important to distinguish mediastinal neoplasms and neoplasms metastatic to lung from primary lung tumors. Processing tissue in methacrylate and epoxy resins results in excellent preservation of histologic detail and allows for maximum resolution under the light microscope. In addition, histochemical and immunochemical procedures can be carried out in these preparations, allowing the pathologist to more precisely classify the various tumors.

Cell population analysis of a heterogeneous blast cell crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia.

A case of Philadelphia negative chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is described with the following features: 1) initial lymphoid blast crisis; followed by 2) a heterogeneous blast crisis including myeloid, monocytic, and lymphoid elements that could be distinguished by morphological, cytochemical, ultrastructural methods and by immunologic markers; and 3) clonal evolution as shown by methylcellulose cultures and ultrastructural studies with emergence of a relatively drug resistant subclone of leukemic cells. Determination of surface antigen phenotype in CML blast crisis thus provides clinically useful information for the structuring of treatment protocols. This study also confirms previous studies that lymphoid blast crisis of CML can occur in Ph'-cases and that the Philadelphia chromosome is probably a clonal marker only and its presence is not directly related to the subsequent clinical course of the disease.

Ultrastructural and Immunological methods in diagnostic pathology in a community hospital.

Five unusual tumors and one case of glomerulonephritis were examined by light microscopy, immunochemical methods, and electron microscopy in order to arrive at a correct diagnosis. We propose that these techniques can be used in community hospitals for selected cases in order to classify certain types of tumors, identify the primary site of some metastatic tumors, and help in the precise classification of some autoimmune diseases.