Spontaneous dissecting aneurysm of coronary artery in a pregnant woman at term.

We describe a case of spontaneous dissecting aneurysm of the circumflex coronary artery in a 44-year-old primigravida at term with no vascular risk factors. Spontaneous coronary artery dissection is a very rare condition with a greater prevalence in women, postpartum in particular. The left anterior descending artery is the most frequently affected. Histologically, the most common finding is a hematoma occupying the outer third of the media, resulting in complete compression of the true lumen. Arterial wall changes during pregnancy together with hemodynamic factors, a lytic action of protease released from eosinophils, and intimal tears are the main hypotheses considered to explain the etiology of spontaneous coronary artery dissection.

[Giant pedunculated clustered uterine fibromyoma in hyaline and cystic degeneration. Limitations of clinical and instrumental diagnosis]. / Fibromioma uterino gigante peduncolato a grappolo in degenerazione ialina e cistica. Limiti della diagnostica clinica e strumentale.

The authors report a case of a 46-year-old woman who was checked by integrated ultrasound examination, i.e. transabdominal and transvaginal, and by abdominopelvic CAT. The examinations, ascertained the presence of a probably malignant, voluminous, ovarian, multilobate abdominopelvic neoplasia. On opening the belly, it was found that the tumefaction was a voluminous, pedunculate uterine myofibroma in clusters starting from the rear isthmian wall while the adnexa were normal. The histological examination confirmed that it was a "fibromyoma in hyaline and cystic degeneration". The authors conclude that although the image diagnostics has reached an extremely high level of precision, it is not yet possible to make an absolutely certain diagnosis, either on the organ from which a pelvic neoplasia originates or on its biological nature.

Early ultrasonographic diagnosis of placental mesenchymal dysplasia.

Placental mesenchymal dysplasia (PMD) is a rare pathology characterized by vascular anomalies, placentomegaly and grapelike vesicles resembling partial molar pregnancy. PMD is often associated with fetal growth restriction or intrauterine fetal demise. We report a case of an early diagnosis of PMD at 10 weeks' gestation, with a regular intrauterine growth and a fetal demise occurring at 31 week's gestation. The placenta showed aneurysmally dilated and tortuous vessels with luminal thrombosis. Even in presence of a regular fetal growth, a fetal demise may always occur, suggesting the option of an early heparin administration to reduce the risk of thrombosis of chorionic vessels.

[Teratoma of umbilical cord: a case report and literature review]. / Teratoma del cordone ombelicale: descrizione di un caso e revisione della letteratura.

Teratomas are tumors that arise from totipotent embryonic germ cells. The umbilical cord is an extremely rare site for this tumor, only 12 cases have been reported in the medical literature. Herein we describe an umbilical cord mass presenting necrosis with clinical and histopathological features that can be considered as another case of umbilical cord teratoma. We discuss the differential diagnosis and review the complete literature on this subject.

Papillary adenofibroma of the uterine cervix. A case report.

Papillary adenofibroma of the uterine cervix is a rare benign neoplasm with histologic characteristics similar to the ovarian adenofibroma. We report the case of a 46 years old patient who suffered menorrhagia. At colposcopic exam a polypoid neoformation was seen at the cervix uteri which was diagnosed as endocervical polyp and polypectomy followed. Only the histologic exam revealed the true nature of the tumor.

Lung carcinogenesis by procarbazine chlorate in BALB/c mice.

A study of the carcinogenic action of procarbazine chlorate in BALB/c/Cb/Se mice showed that this substance significantly increases the incidence or lung tumours in both sexes. The induced tumors were alveolar-lining, papillary and alveolar-papillary type carcinomas with a tendency to invade the bronchial wall.

Pure Leydig cell tumour (hilus cell) of the ovary: a rare cause of virilization after menopause.

A 58-year-old postmenopausal woman with high plasma testosterone levels and virilization, as demonstrated by hirsutism and alopecia, is presented. Urinary 17-ketosteroids and 17-hydroxycorticosteroids as well as the computed axial tomography scan of the adrenal glands were normal. Although no pelvic mass was detected by sonography or pelvic examination, the patient was found to have small pure Leydig cell tumour of the left ovary. Following total abdominal hysterectomy and bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, the patient had regression of the hirsutism, and the plasma testosterone dropped to normal level.