The squash-smear technique in the diagnosis of spinal cord neurinomas. Report of three cases.
The squash-smear technique was used instead of frozen sections for the rapid intraoperative diagnosis of three neurinomas of the thoracic spinal cord. Characteristic cytologic features that could be considered of diagnostic value were the absence of recognizable cytoplasmic outlines, the elongated, sometimes-wavy appearance of the nuclei and the dense fibrillary background. Nuclear palisades with formation of Verocay bodies were present in one case; these were also identified in the paraffin-embedded permanent sections. Histologically, the tumors were predominantly Antoni type A neurinomas.
D000328:Adult; D003581:Cytodiagnosis / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009442:Neurilemmoma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D013120:Spinal Cord Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology