1/4. myxoma of the jaws. Report of three cases.Odontogenic myxoma is a locally aggressive, uncommon benign tumour which arises from mesenchymal tissues normally present in developing teeth. The most frequent locations of odontogenic myxoma are the posterior regions of the mandible, as well as the condylar region. Since odontogenic myxomas are not associated with any specific clinical or radiological sign, a histopathological examination of the specimen is required for confirmation of the primary diagnosis. We report three cases of myxoma diagnosed during the last 18 years. Two of them were located in atypical regions of the mandible and one was located in the maxilla. Presence of a slow-growing swelling associated with expansion of the bone plates raised suspicion of a tumour in two cases, while in the third patient the myxoma was an incidental finding during radiological examination. Due to the unspecific nature of these lesions, in every case a histopathological examination of the surgical specimen was required for diagnostic confirmation. In one of the three reported cases, we shall underline the need to follow a correct diagnostic work-up of all radiolucent lesions of the jaws, in order to avoid contraindicated therapeutic procedures.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nature (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/4. Diagnosing inflammatory and non-inflammatory periapical disease.Most central bony lesions appearing in a periapical location are inflammatory in nature secondary to pulpal degeneration. However, cysts, tumors, and other diseases may be easily confused with such endodontic lesions. Four clinical cases are presented, illustrating the importance of thorough evaluation and the role of biopsy in appropriate cases.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nature (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/4. Conservative treatment of persistent periradicular lesions using aspiration and irrigation.Aspirating the unknown contents of a bony cavity and saline irrigation of a body wound are both basic surgical techniques. These two techniques have been combined in treating persistent periradicular pathosis in two cases. The cases demonstrate significant bony healing of extensive periradicular defects after the use of the combined procedure. Both cases were nonresponsive to nonsurgical root canal treatment. The use of aspiration and irrigation may initiate healing in cases of uninfected apical cysts which heretofore would require surgical intervention. The conservative nature of these procedures has advantages of reduced treatment time, avoidance of iatrogenic problems, and elimination of some conventional apical surgery.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nature (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/4. Features of odontogenesis and expression of cytokeratins and tenascin-C in three cases of extraosseous and intraosseous calcifying odontogenic cyst.To characterize further the nature of calcifying odontogenic cyst (COC), we studied histologically and immunohistochemically an extraosseous and two intraosseous lesions. The extraosseous COC was in continuity with the stratified squamous epithelium of the alveolar mucosa. Immunostaining with monoclonal antibodies showed reactivity of both low- and high-molecular-weight cytokeratins, the degree of coexpression decreasing with the increasing morphological diversity of the cyst/tumour epithelium. Staining for the matrix glycoprotein tenascin-C was seen not only in the connective tissue, where its distribution patterns corresponded to the stage of hard tissue formation, but also in epithelial elements. The staining patterns were analogous to those described during normal tooth formation. Both the morphological characteristics and expression patterns of the various cytokeratin types and tenascin-C implied that COC represents a pathological counterpart of normal odontogenesis. In the case of the extraosseous COC, the correspondence could be traced back to early stages of tooth development.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = nature (Clic here for more details about this article) |