title: Splenic lesions: FNA findings in 48 cases.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To study fine needle aspiration (FNA) cytological findings of splenic lesions and assess the role of FNA in the diagnosis of splenomegaly or splenic tumours.
  
  
  METHODS
  This study consisted of 48 cases, 25 males and 23 females. The ages ranged between 3 and 71 years. Most of these cases were aspirated under ultrasonographic guidance and a small number were also aspirated directly by using a 22- to 23-gauge needles. The smears were stained with Wright-Giemsa and Papanicolaou methods. Special stains were used whenever necessary.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In this study 14 cases were diagnosed as lymphoma-leukaemia, 7 cases as tuberculosis, 12 cases as kala-azar, 2 cases as hydatid cyst, 3 cases as storage diseases, 3 cases as simple cyst, 2 cases as myeloproliferative disorders, 2 cases as malignant tumours and 3 cases as hamartomas (these were wrongly diagnosed as malignant tumours).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Splenic aspiration is a safe procedure and is very useful in the diagnosis of parasitic and infectious diseases, especially in endemic countries like Iran.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Shiraz Medical School, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran. pvnksyz@yahoo.com
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Monabati
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Raseki
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Arshadi
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Malek-Hosseini
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Talei
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle / Q000379:methods*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013154:Spleen / Q000473:pathology*; D013158:Splenic Diseases / Q000473:pathology*