title: Aspiration biopsy of nodular sarcoidosis of the muscle.
abstract: The nodular form of muscular sarcoidosis is rare and the condition is often confused with a soft tissue neoplasm. We present a case of nodular muscular sarcoidosis of the right calf in a 52-yr-old woman which was diagnosed by thin-needle aspiration biopsy (TNAB). In this patient, a calf mass was the initial manifestation of sarcoidosis. Contrast-enhanced computed tomographic scans of the calf showed a mass with peripheral ring-like enhancement. T2-weighted magnetic resonance images demonstrated a mass with central hypointensity and marked peripheral hyperintensity. TNAB revealed noncaseating epithelioid cell granulomas in association with multinucleated giant cells. Combined with the radiologic findings, TNAB is considered a useful modality for the diagnosis of nodular muscular sarcoidosis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Kobe University School of Medicine, Kobe, Japan. yamatetu@med.kobe-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuji
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nagira
authors.forename: Toshihiro
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Akisue
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marui
authors.forename: Toshiaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hitora
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nakatani
authors.forename: Masahiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kurosaka
authors.forename: Ryuko
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tsukamoto
mesh_terms: D001707:Biopsy, Needle; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008875:Middle Aged; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology*; D009135:Muscular Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D012507:Sarcoidosis / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed