Light and ultrastructural studies of renal oncocytic adenoma.

An asymptomatic renal oncocytoma was found in the upper left quadrant of an eighty-five-year-old woman during a routine physical examination. Ultrastructurally, the tumor was composed entirely of epithelial cells filled with normal and abnormal mitochondria. Selective renal angiography showed two renal arteries supplying a lobulated, highly vascular mass. The mass contained irregular and tortuous vessels without any arteriovenous shunting.

A functional parathyroid gland adenoma of transitional oxyphil cells. A light and ultrastructural study.

This report describes light and ultrastructural features of a functional parathyroid gland adenoma, principally composed of transitional oxyphil cells, in a 64-yr-old hypertensive black woman. She was hospitalized for repeated episodes of headaches, lethargy, and dizzy spells. Her serum calcium level was 2.92 mmol/l and immunoassay for parathormone was 390 pg/ml. On neck exploration, the left lower parathyroid gland was found enlarged and therefore removed in toto. The serum calcium and phosphate levels returned to normal following parathyroidectomy. Microscopically, the diagnosis of functional oxyphil adenoma was made. On ultrastructural examination, the tumour was composed principally of transitional cells, occasional typical, and degenerating oxyphil cells. The predominant transitional cells were rich in mitochondria and contained multiple active Golgi complexes, stacked profiles of rough endoplasmic reticulum, and a few secretory granules. On the other hand, typical oxyphil cells were tightly packed with mitochondria at the expense of other organelles. It appeared that neoplastic oxyphil cells were chief cells transformed in response to some unknown oncogenic stimulus.

Granulomatous laryngitis of unknown etiology.

A 21-year-old man was admitted for odynophagia and hoarseness of four months duration. He smoked one and a half packs of cigarettes a day and occasionally inhaled marijuana. Indirect laryngoscopy revealed a massive swelling of the entire epiglottis, aryepiglottic folds, and arytenoids. The histopathologic diagnosis of chronic but active nonspecific inflammation was made. Combined antibiotics and steroid therapy gave temporary relief. He was readmitted several months later with progressive shortness of breath, dysphagia, and hoarseness. Biopsy of the epiglottic tissues showed multiple noncaseating epithelioid granulomatous lesions consistent with sarcoidosis. All pertinent laboratory tests failed to establish a definitive diagnosis. The patient eventually underwent supraglottic laryngectomy. He has been symptom-free for 20 months following surgery.

Fetal and neonatal fatality in rat hybrids from mothers stimulated with parental skin.

A breeding experiment was conducted in which MAXX female rats were mated with BN male rats. These two strains of inbred rats are identical for AgB antigens and differ only in antigens governed by minor histocompatibility loci. MAXX females, which were exposed before pregnancies to four BN skin grafts, delivered 117 offspring of which 28 (23.9%) were stillborn and 10 (8.5%) dead within 24 hr of birth. In contrast, of 126 offspring in control groups, only one was stillborn and one dead within 24 hr. In BN-grafted MAXX females, placentas were partially necrotic with marked polymorphonuclear reaction, which could account for stillbirths or the newborn deaths shortly after birth. The stillborn fetuses had grossly noticeable wrinkled skin. Histologically, the architecture of the epidermis was disturbed. The dermis was edematous and contained occasional mononuclear cells.