Epithelial tumours
Cutaneous epithelial neoplasms can originate from any of the epithelial structures present in the skin and are classified based on the cell of origin and presence or absence of squamous…
Inflammatory lesions
• Neutrophilic • Macrophagic • Eosinophilic • Lymphocytic • Mixed (in the absence of a prevalent cell type) The recognition of the inflammatory pattern helps the pathologist to restrict the list of differential diagnoses and…
Cysts, tumour-like lesions and response to tissue injury
Clinical features • Relatively common in dogs, less frequent in cats. • Age: most commonly seen in adult animals. • They can occur in any location, but most commonly arise on the head…
Round cell tumours
Neoplasms included in this group originate from different cell lines, but have been historically grouped all together as they share similar cytological features. Round cell tumours include: • Mast cell tumour…
Collection, preparation and staining of cytology specimens
2.1 Materials • Needles (21–25G) and syringes (2–10 ml) for fine-needle sampling of cutaneous and subcutaneous masses with/without aspiration. • Cotton swabs, ideally dampened with saline, for swab sampling. • Glass slides, possibly…
Metastatic lesions
Skin metastases of non-primary skin tumours are extremely rare in dogs and cats and only sporadic cases have been reported in the literature. In certain cases, cutaneous metastases may be…
Skin and subcutis anatomy
5.1 Main Components of the Skin and Subcutis Epidermis The epidermis is mostly composed of keratinocytes. It also contains melanocytes, Langerhans cells (histiocytes) and pressure-sensing Merkel cells. It is formed…
Guidelines to cytology smear examination
A correct approach to slide examination is considered crucial for an appropriate interpretation of cytological samples and to reduce the chances of missing important details. A poor and superficial examination…
Guide to the choice and correct use of the microscope (Ian Baldwin)
(Ian Baldwin) The optical microscope is as important to the pathologist now as it was 100 years ago (and surprisingly still similar in function and use). Choosing an instrument of…
Cytological criteria of malignancy
In tumour cytology, cells are evaluated for the presence of morphological alterations compared with the normal cells from which they originate. When present, these changes are referred to as criteria…
