308 Chapter 12 ■ PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
PATHOLOGY REPORT
Date: November 16, 2014 Pathology No. 450231
Patient: Carolyn Jones Room No. 422
Physician: Howard T. Waxman, MD Hospital No. 550330
Specimen: Biopsy of left bronchus
GROSS DESCRIPTION: The specimen consisted of a very tiny, wispy portion of soft
whitish pink tissue measuring 3 × 2 × 1 mm in toto. The entire
specimen is submitted.
MICROSCOPIC DESCRIPTION: The sections of the bronchial biopsy show approximately
half of the mucosa to be composed of pseudostratified,
ciliated, respiratory-type epithelium, and the second half to
be composed of respiratory epithelium that has undergone
squamous metaplasia. There is one small area of cells that
has become detached from the mucosa, which is composed
of rather pleomorphic and hyperchromatic cells with loss of
polarity. This small area of tissue would be classified as the
squamous carcinoma. However, I see no evidence of (the)
infiltration through the basement membrane in this section.
Additional tissue may show more extensive involvement with
the carcinoma.
DIAGNOSIS: Small fragment of squamous carcinoma without evidence
of infiltration into the underlying submucosa, left bronchus,
biopsy (see description).
Pathologist
Mark M. Mosley, MD
New Terms:
hyperchromatic Pertaining to cells that stain intensely (chrom/o = color)
loss of polarity Cells lose normal sense of organization (characteristic of
malignancy)
pleomorphic Pertaining to cells with many (ple/o = more) different shapes
and form characteristic of malignancy
pseudostratified Type of layered epithelium in which nuclei of adjacent cells are
at different levels.
squamous metaplasia Reversible conversion of normal cells into another, less
specialized cell type. Often, these cells can transform into
cancerous cells.