title: Endoscopic ultrasound fine needle aspiration: Technique and applications in clinical practice.
abstract: Since its initial report in 1992, endoscopic ultrasound-guided fine needle aspiration (EUS-FNA) has now been incorporated into the diagnostic and staging algorithm for the evaluation of benign and malignant diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and of adjacent organs. Its introduction constitutes a major breakthrough in the endoscopic field and has gradually transformed EUS from a pure imaging modality into a more interventional procedure. In addition, the possibility of collecting samples, providing a definitive cytological and/or histological evidence of the presence of malignancy, has strongly contributed to changing EUS from a subjective, highly operator dependant procedure into a more objective one. This article will review the instrumentation, technique and the most important clinical applications of EUS-FNA.
authors.affiliation: Benjamin Tharian, Fotios Tsiopoulos, Nayana George, Salvatore Di Pietro, Fabia Attili, Alberto Larghi, Digestive Endoscopy Unit, Catholic University, 00168 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Benjamin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tharian
authors.forename: Fotios
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Tsiopoulos
authors.forename: Nayana
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Salvatore Di
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Pietro
authors.forename: Fabia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Attili
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Larghi
keywords: Endoscopic ultrasound; Equipment; Fine needle aspiration; Procore needle; Staging; Technique; Tru Cut biopsy