Kidneys In 1946, Lindblom, a Swedish radiologist, described percutaneous puncture of renal cysts and tumors. Subsequently, during the 1950s, beginning in the Scandinavian countries, the increasing use of fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of mass lesions in the kidneys, adrenals, and retroperitoneum…
Introduction Anatomic Compartments and Clinical Correlation The mediastinum is a large anatomic compartment in the thoracic cavity, bounded laterally by the pleurae, anteriorly by the sternum, posteriorly by the vertebrae, superiorly by the thoracic inlet, and inferiorly by the diaphragm.…
Introduction Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) biopsy of the breast was first used in the 1930s by Martin and Ellis and by Stewart at Memorial Hospital, followed in the late 1940s and early 1950s by Adair and Godwin. However, not until the…
Introduction Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is a well-established procedure for the evaluation of lymphadenopathy, which may be associated with various pathologies including reactive conditions, infections, and primary and metastatic malignancies. The morphologic criteria for the diagnosis of metastatic tumors and infections…
Introduction Although Martin and Ellis reported using fine-needle aspiration (FNA) to study the thyroid gland as early as 1930, its first widespread use was in Sweden during the 1950s and 1960s and later in the USA in the late 1970s…
Historical Background Thyroid nodules are common and usually benign but may be malignant, and since there is currently no non-invasive method to determine which ones are malignant, standard of care involves thyroid fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Thyroid FNA is widely accepted…
Salivary Glands Introduction A nodule or diffuse enlargement of the salivary glands may be caused by a cystic lesion, an inflammation, a degenerative process, a benign or malignant neoplasm. For adequate management, the exact nature of the process must be…
Introduction Although modern imaging and laboratory methods permit precise identification of the presence and location of disease throughout the body, cytologic or histologic examination of tissue remains an essential step in establishing a definitive diagnosis and in planning patient management.…
History of Aspiration Biopsy The first report on the use of “needle puncture” is referred to in The Kitab al-Tarif ( The Method of Medicine ), the most influential book of Arab medieval medicine, authored by Albucasis or Abu al-Qasim…
Introduction Cytologic examination of a serous effusion is of paramount importance because the finding of cancer cells in such a specimen denotes that the patient has cancer that is not only advanced but also almost always incurable. Apart from the…