Histopathologic aspects in a case of strumal carcinoid (struma ovarii and carcinoid).

The authors present the histopathologic aspects in a case of strumal carcinoid (struma ovarii and carcinoid) with 5 years clinical follow-up. The differential diagnosis difficulties between a thyroid carcinoma developed within a struma ovarii and various patterns of carcinoid are also stressed.

Increased autophagocytosis induced by colchicine in rat sympathetic neurons.

The effect of colchicine was followed up in the superior cervical ganglion of rats. An increase was observed in the number of autophagocytosis vacuoles in the neurons, especially three and four hours after the intraperitoneal injection of colchicine (0.05 mg/100 g.b.w.). These vacuoles presented very various ultrastructural characters due to their different content and stage of degradation. Their high number is explained by the action of colchicine upon cytoplasmic microtubules, the secondary inhibition of the intracellular movement, and the blockage or reduction of the fusion of primary lysosomes with the autophagic vacuoles, which are continuously formed in the neuron cytoplasms, as well as in other cells.

Ultrastructure of macrocellular (large cell) carcinomas of the lung.

The electronmicroscopic investigation of five lung tumors histodiagnosed as macrocellular carcinomas showed the ultrastructural monomorphism of large, variedly shaped neoplastic cells, lack of intercellular junctions, voluminous nuclei with many indentations of nuclear membrane, dispersed euchromatin, large and multiple nucleoli, and nuclear bodies. A reduced number of cytoplasmic organelles was characteristic for these cells, represented mainly by mitochondria, rare rough endoplasmic reticulum, free ribosomes rare Golgi vesicles and flattened tubules, and a various amount of tonofilaments. These features characterized the poorly differentiated proliferation forming these tumors. The elements of differential diagnosis from other poorly differentiated lung tumors (epidermoid and cylindrocubic) are discussed, allowing the consideration of this proliferation type with repressed differentiation and maturation as a real one in the framework of lung carcinomas.

Electronmicroscopic observations on epidermoid (squamous cell) carcinomas of the lung.

Five epidermoid (squamous cell) carcinomas of the lung histopathologically diagnosed were ultrastructurally analysed; special attention was given to the poorly differentiated-immature areas of proliferation. Wide intercellular spaces between irregular cytoplasms with protrusions and microvilli, a high incidence of indentations of nuclear membranes, a large amount of nuclear bodies, shape, size and structure anomalies of mitochondria, a great number of desmosomes and of tonofilaments and tonofibril bundles and their relations with desmosomes and with the finger-like cytoplasmic expansions were noticed. A few secretory granules were also present in these poorly differentiated-immature areas of epidermoid carcinomas of the lung.

Fine structure of lipid storage in epithelial cells lining bile ducts in Niemann-Pick's disease.

Lipid lamellated vacuoles have been found in epithelial cells lining bile ducts in a case of Niemann-Pick's disease. The lipidic vacuoles were few and small within these cells and were placed in the cell apical area.

[Tumors of the soft parts of the extremities. Anatomoclinical and therapeutic aspects]. / Tumorile partilor moi ale membrelor. Aspecte anatomoclinice si terapeutice.

A total of 60 cases are presented, of patients with tumours of the soft parts of the limbs, from a total of 14,000 surgical interventions. Of the total 18 were malignant tumours, while the remaining 42 cases had benign tumours. Tumours of the soft parts of the limbs include a large variety of histologic forms, and this raises particular problems of diagnosis and treatment. In the case of benign tumours the treatment is better codified, and consists in the removal of the tumour by simple enucleation. Recidives are possible because of the infra-clinical peritumoral invasion. In the case of malignant tumors the treatment is more differentiated, depending on the histologic type, the degree of malignancy, the stage of evolution, and on evolutive characteristics. Surgery remains an essential part of the treatment, and either limited or radical surgical solutions (amputation) are used. Frequently radiation and chemical therapy are associated, with good results. Six clinical observations are presented: rhabdomyosarcoma of the recidivating type, multi-recidivating fibrosarcoma, fibromyxosarcoma, varicose ulcers with malignant evolution, and two cases of liposarcoma. The cooperation is stressed, which should exist between the surgeon, the pathologist, radiologist and oncologist, for the diagnosis and treatment of these affections.

Ultrastructural peculiarities of intercellular junctions in bronchopulmonary carcinomas.

Six bronchopulmonary carcinomas of various histological types (macrocellular, epidermoid) were electronmicroscopically studied on bronchial biopsy samples. The scarcity of intercellular junctions was observed in all of them, especially in carcinoma types or zones (i.e. of epidermoid carcinoma) less differentiated. Close and gap junctions, zonulae adherentes and maculae adherentes dominated the structure of poorly differentiated carcinomas, while the differentiated types also presented frequent desmosomes. Also the reduction of intercellular junctions frequency was accompanied by their ultrastructural aberrations. The ultrastructural changes observed were correlated to the capacity for invasion of investigated carcinomas without reducing this basic property of cancer cells to the former.