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Biomedical subjects

M L Christ

Publications and source records attributed to M L Christ.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Appendices epiploicae of the colon: radiologic and pathologic features.

Appendices epiploicae are adipose structures protruding from the serosal surface of the colon. They can be seen with abdominal radiography and cross-sectional imaging if the colonic wall is surrounded by intraperitoneal contrast material, ascites, or blood. Normal appendices epiploicae appear as lobulated masses of pericolic fat, usually 2-5 cm long and 1-2 cm thick. Their enlargement, deformity, or altered radiopacity may result from various pathologic processes that can originate locally or extend from adjacent viscera. In a series of 22 cases, appendices epiploicae were affected by spontaneous torsion and hemorrhagic infarct, calcification due to aseptic fat necrosis, primary or secondary inflammation, enlargement by lipomas or metastases, and incarceration in hernias. Disorders of appendices epiploicae are often manifested by nonspecific clinical signs and symptoms (eg, torsion is often mistaken for appendicitis or diverticulitis). These entities should be included in the differential diagnosis of any unexplained abdominal pain or pericolic lesions in adults.

Adipose Tissue↗
PubMed1991

Rectal irrigation with short-chain fatty acids for distal ulcerative colitis. Preliminary report.

Colon cells from patients with ulcerative colitis utilize short-chain fatty acids inefficiently and may be exposed to decreased concentrations of these compounds. To test whether irrigation of the inflamed mucosa with short-chain fatty acids is useful, we conducted a six-week preliminary trial in 12 patients with distal colitis. Each patient used twice daily rectal irrigations with 100 ml of a solution containing acetate (80 mM), propionate (30 mM), and butyrate (40 mM). Two patients stopped at three weeks, one because of no improvement and the other because of complete resolution of symptoms. Of the 10 who completed the trial, nine were judged to be at least much improved and showed a change in a mean disease activity index score from 7.9 +/- 0.3 (SE) to 1.8 +/- 0.6 (SE) (P less than or equal to 0.002) and in a mucosal histology score from 7.7 +/- 0.7 (SE) to 2.6 +/- 0.7 (SE) (P less than or equal to 0.002). Thus, ulcerative colitis patients appear to benefit from increased contact with or higher than usual levels of these critical energy substrates.

Acetates↗
PubMed1991

Uterine leiomyoma with skeletal muscle differentiation. Report of a case.

Skeletal muscle differentiation is reported in a uterine leiomyoma from a 54-year-old woman. Evidence of rhabdomyoblastic features included a typical light microscopic appearance, immunoreactivity with antimyoglobin antibodies by immunoperoxidase studies, and the presence of myofibrils by electron microscopic examination. The patient is well more than two years after surgery.

Cell Differentiation↗
PubMed1991

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma with osteoclast-like giant cells. A clinicopathologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural study.

Two anaplastic thyroid carcinomas with osteoclast-like giant cells (OCL-GC) are reported. Light microscopically, one case resembled an aneurysmal bone cyst with cellular connective-tissue septae separating cavernous, blood-filled sinuses. The second case had sheets of anaplastic cells and a separate focus of papillary carcinoma without areas of transition. Multinucleate OCL-GC, pleomorphic mononuclear cells, and histiocytoid mononuclear cells with nuclei similar to those within the OCL-GC were seen in each case. With formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue, the majority of OCL-GC and histiocytoid mononuclear cells in both cases showed immunoreactivity using monoclonal antibodies to vimentin and KP-1, with the latter preparation directed against cells of monocytic/histiocytic lineage. Staining for keratin, epithelial membrane antigen, neuron-specific enolase, chromogranin, calcitonin, and thyroglobulin was negative in all cell types. Ultrastructural examination of one case showed two distinct types of mononuclear cells--one with morphologic characteristics similar to those of the OCL-GC, and another with pleomorphic nuclei and short cytoplasmic extensions joined by poorly formed desmosomes. The findings indicate that the anaplastic thyroid carcinomas studied represent poorly differentiated epithelial tumors infiltrated by reactive OCL-GC of monocytic/histiocytic lineage apparently derived from histiocytoid mononuclear cells via cellular fusion.

Carcinoma↗
PubMed1988

Prostatic aspiration biopsy: an assessment of accuracy based on long-term observations.

We present the results of transrectal thin needle aspiration biopsy of the prostate in 133 patients. Test specificity was 94 per cent and sensitivity also appeared to be high initially. However, with repeated rectal examinations and biopsies during an 11-year period a number of additional false negatives became apparent, which resulted in an apparent test sensitivity of 82 per cent, lower than most previously published reports. Our data suggest that aspiration biopsy has specificity and sensitivity similar to core biopsy, it is important to re-test patients who have a palpable abnormality and an initially benign biopsy, and aspiration biopsy simplicity allows for a low threshold of suspicion of subtle abnormalities and for repeating biopsies after negative findings.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMed1986

Intraoperative fine-needle aspiration and rapid diagnosis of thoracic lesions.

Rapid cytologic diagnosis of thoracic lesions by intraoperative fine-needle aspiration is a valuable aid to the surgeon at the time of thoracotomy or mediastinoscopy, especially for lesions which are difficult or hazardous to biopsy by standard methods. The technique is simple, quick, and accurate and aids in determining the immediate surgical management of suspicious lesions. One hundred fifty-four IOFNAs of thoracic masses performed over an 8-year period were evaluated. Diagnostic accuracy was 97.7% for the diagnosis of benign lesions, 95.4% for the diagnosis of malignancy, and 100% for the differentiation of small cell carcinoma from non-small cell carcinoma of the lung.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1979

Maxillofacial synovial sarcoma. Light- and electron-microscopic study of two cases.

The light microscopy and ultrastructural features of two maxillofacial synovial sarcomas are presented. By light microscopy, one of the tumors revealed the typical biphasic pattern while the other was predominantly fibrosarcomatous. Ultrastructurally, both cases revealed a biphasic pattern. Epithelial-like cells displayed abundant mitochondria, Golgi profiles, electron-dense bodies, cytolysosomes, and thin filaments. Stromal cells were spindle-shaped and provided with smaller cytoplasm and scant organelles, mainly consisting of profiles of rough endoplasmic retuculum, mitochondria, and free ribosomes. Pseudoglandular spaces lined by cuboidal to flattened epithelial-like cells with apical microvilli were numerous. Basal lamina and intercellular junctions were prominent in one case, but sparse in the other. The most undifferentiated tumor revealed many intercellular clefts containing filopodia among the epithelial-like cells; occasional intracyltoplasmic lumina were also present. These findings are somewhat similar to those reported in normal and nonneoplastic diseases of the synovium. However, the location of the tumors in areas normally devoid of synovium suggests one more that they might arise from nonspecialized primitive mesenchyme.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions (invaginations) in thyroid aspirations. Frequency and specificity.

In order to determine the frequency and specificity of intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions (invaginations), described by some as an important criterion for the cytologic diagnosis of thyroid carcinoma, 258 consecutive thyroid aspirates were reviewed. Intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions were present in 91% of the papillary adenocarcinomas but were not seen in any of the benign thyroid lesions or in any of the few nonpapillary adenocarcinomas in the study. It is concluded that the presence of intranuclear cytoplasmic inclusions in thyroid aspirates is probably specific to thyroid carcinoma but is not necessarily restricted to the papillary variant.

Biopsy, Needle↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cytologic changes associated with vaginal pessary use. With special reference to the presence of Actinomyces.

The cytopathology of Papanicolaou smears from 23 postmenopausal women with vaginal pessaries is described. The following alterations, when seen in the smear of an elderly postmenopausal woman, were found to be strongly suggestive of pessary use: cytologic atypia in the form of severe inflammatory changes in squamous cells, atypical metaplasia, and reparative changes with a background pattern of acute inflammation and prominent superficial maturation of the squamous cells. A notable additional finding in 13 of the 23 patients was the presence of filamentous organisms resembling Actinomyces and morphologically similar to organisms recently described and specifically identified as Actinomyces in patients with intrauterine devices.

Actinomyces↗