title: Morphological variability and degenerative evolution of human hepatic hydatid cysts.
abstract: The findings are presented of a macro and microscopic investigation of 89 hydatid hepatic cysts removed intact from 59 patients by total pericystectomy. Detailed analysis revealed significant morphostructural variability and cysts grouped into 10 types were characterized, providing useful clinical indications. Only 30 cysts resulted fertile (33.7%), probably due to mean age of sample; 7 of these were "classic" cysts, 1 "septated" and 22 "multivesicular" packed with daughter cysts (DC), of varying turgidity or collapsed. Among the remaining 59 sterile cysts, 52 were degenerated and classified as "hyperlaminated" cysts due to the presence of large convoluted sheets of laminar tissue (SLT) surrounded by varying amounts of caseous (40 specimens), granular (6) or gelatinous (6) matrix. Moreover, "multivesicular", "acephalocyst", "caseous" and "serous" cysts were also recovered among the sterile specimens. Some "multivesicular" cysts (14) appeared as "transitional forms" towards the various types of "hyperlaminated" cysts containing all different forms of DC and large SLT intermingled with a variously degenerated matrix. The comprehensive study allows to hypothesize the train of events leading, over the years, to the gradual transformation and degeneration of the larval form Echinococcus granulosus in the human liver.
authors.affiliation: Sezione di Parassitologia, Dipartimento di Scienze Applicate ai Biosistemi, Università degli Studi di Cagliari, Via della Pineta 77, 09100 Cagliari, Italia. parasit@vaxca1.unica.it
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Bortoletti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cagetti
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gabriele
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Conchedda
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D018450:Disease Progression; D004444:Echinococcosis, Hepatic / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology* / Q000601:surgery; D004446:Echinococcus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D007814:Larva; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies