Cytologic features of atypical polypoid adenomyoma of the endometrium. A case report.

BACKGROUND: In 1981, Mazur reported the histologic characteristics of atypical polypoid adenomyoma (APA) of the endometrium. Although most APAs of the endometrium are considered to show benign behavior, there is a small associated risk of the development of adenocarcinoma. The histology of APA of the endometrium is well defined, but the cytologic features of the lesion have not yet been clarified. CASE: A 28-year-old nulligravida with hypermenorrhea had an exophytic, polypoid mass arising from the posterior uterine wall on ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging. The results of endometrial smear and biopsy were normal. Transcervical total resection of the tumor was performed with a resectoscope. Frozen sections of the sample suggested APA of the endometrium, and the permanent sections confirmed the diagnosis. The tumor stump/resection plane smears revealed overlapping, highly atypical glandular cells with enlarged, hyperchromatic nuclei; squamous metaplastic cells; and abundant, spindled smooth muscle cells on a clear background, effectively reflecting the epithelial and mesenchymal cell components of the lesion. CONCLUSION: Endometrial smear and biopsy are inaccurate methods for the diagnosis of APA of the endometrium because of limited sampling. Tumor stump/resection plane cytology appears to be useful for detecting APA of the endometrium.

Glial cell lineage in vivo in the mouse cerebellum.

Glial cells of the cerebellum originate from cells of the ventricular germinative layer, but their lineage has not been fully elucidated. For studying the glial cell lineage in vivo by retrovirus-mediated gene transfer, we introduced a marker retrovirus into the ventricular germinative layer of embryonic day 13 mice. In the resulting adult cerebella, virus-labeled glial cells were grouped in discrete clusters, and statistical analysis showed that these clusters represented clones in high probability. Of 71 of the virus-labeled glial clusters, 33 clusters were composed of astrocytes/Bergmann glia, 10 were composed of only white matter astrocytes, and 24 were composed of only oligodendrocytes. No glial clusters contained virus-labeled neurons. These results suggest that astrocytes/Bergmann glia, white matter astrocytes and oligodendrocytes immediately arise from separate glial precursors: these three glial lineages may diverge in the course of cerebellar development.

DNA CONTENTS IN PURKINJE CELLS AND INNER GRANULE NEURONS IN THE DEVELOPING RAT CEREBELLUM.

Cytophotometric studies revealed that the content of Feulgen DNA in Purkinje cells in the developing rat cerebellum remains at the diploid level throughout the postnatal life. No evidence was found to suggest resumption of DNA synthesis in the neurons. This finding is in accord with autoradiographic observations that neuroblasts once differentiated from matrix cells do not synthesize DNA nor divide again.