Mast cells in testicular lesions.

The study was performed on orchidectomized tissue and testicular biopsies sent for histopathological examination which included; 9 cases of orchitis, 6 pyocele, 9 haematocele, 13 seminomas, 5 embryonal cell carcinoma, 2 teratocarcinoma, 2 lymphoma, 4 yolk sac tumor, 17 infertility lesions and 6 normal. Toluidine blue stained sections were examined under high power magnification (hpm) and the number of mast cell present in 10 consecutive fields was counted. There was a considerable variation in the number and distribution of mast cells in various testicular lesions. Mast cells were observed mainly in the areas of inflammatory infiltrate, granulation tissue and immature fibrous tissue. In infertility, interstitium and tubular walls were the areas of predilection for the presence of mast cells. The highest number of mast cells was noted in infertility (23/hpm), compared to inflammatory/reactive lesions (19/hpm) and testicular neoplasms (2/hpm). The highest and the lowest mast cell concentration were observed in infertility and testicular tumours compared to inflammatory/reactive lesions, respectively. The role of mast cells in the pathogenesis of infertility and testicular tumourogenesis requires further investigation.

Myxoma of the tricuspid valve.

Myxomas of the intraventricular cavity are extremely rare, and those of right ventricular origin are the least frequent. Only three cases of myxoma of the tricuspid valve have so far been reported. In this communication a myxoma of the tricuspid valve in a 23-year-old woman is reported because of its unusual and interesting clinical presentation and the extreme rarity of this lesion.