Category Pathology

Central Nervous System

Normal Anatomy Dauntingly complex and characterized by extraordinary variation in regional architecture, the gross and microscopic anatomy of the human central nervous system (CNS) cannot be surveyed here in detail. Instead, a brief review of anatomic landmarks and topographic relationships…

Cardiovascular System

Heart Surgical pathology specimens received from cardiovascular procedures have evolved in parallel to advances and general trends in cardiovascular surgery over recent decades. Methods have been devised to relieve aortic, mitral, and pulmonary valvular stenosis (often by replacement with a…

Soft Tissues

Normal Anatomy Soft tissue is loosely defined as the complex of nonepithelial extraskeletal structures of the body exclusive of the supportive tissue of the various organs and the hematopoietic/lymphoid tissue. It is composed of fibrous (connective) tissue, adipose tissue, skeletal…

Bone Marrow

Biopsy Procedure and Processing of Specimen Trephine biopsy of the bone marrow has wide application in clinical medicine; its greatest utility is in the evaluation of patients with malignant lymphoma, acute leukemias, myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), myelodysplastic syndromes (MDSs), metastatic tumor,…

Spleen

Normal Anatomy The normal spleen serves as a lymphoid organ as well as a filtering organ. While fetal hematopoiesis occurs in the spleen, the spleen is not normally a hematopoietic organ after birth but may contain evidence of extramedullary hematopoiesis…

Breast

Normal Anatomy The breast or mammary gland is covered by skin and subcutaneous tissue and rests on the pectoralis muscle, from which it is separated by a fascial layer. The morphofunctional unit of the breast is a complex branching structure…

Ovary

Normal Anatomy The ovaries are paired pelvic organs located on the sides of the uterus close to the lateral pelvic wall, behind the broad ligament and anterior to the rectum. They are connected to the broad ligament by the mesovarium…

Fallopian Tube

Normal Anatomy The fallopian tube or salpinx is a tubular hollow structure measuring 11–12 cm in length that runs throughout the apex of the broad ligament and spans the distance between the uterine cornus and the ovary. It is divided into…