title: Abdominal wall endometriosis: a report of 2 cases with primary diagnosis by fine needle aspiration.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Abdominal wall endometriosis is usually preceded by obstetric operations and occasionally can be spontaneous. The diagnosis can be suspected clinically when there is systemic endometriosis or cyclic pain; otherwise it is difficult to differentiate it from other abdominal tumors and nonneoplastic conditions. Fine needle aspiration is an extremely valuable and safe tool for preoperative evaluation of abdominal wall endometriosis as the disease usually presents as a cutaneous/subcutaneous mass.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two cases of abdominal wall endometriosis occurred. One was associated with systemic endometriosis, an the second was spontaneous. The diagnosis was reached correctly and confirmed by the subsequent histologic examination.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The cytopathologic diagnosis ofendometriosis is feasible, and we need to include endometriosis in the differential diagnosis of an abdominal wall mass in a females.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, King Khalid University Hospital, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. eraddaoui@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Emad
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Raddaoui
authors.forename: Suhaila
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ameeri
mesh_terms: D034861:Abdominal Wall / Q000473:pathology*; D000328:Adult; D044963:Biopsy, Fine-Needle; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004715:Endometriosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity