Computed tomography-guided percutaneous needle biopsy of the lung is an indispensable tool in the evaluation of pulmonary abnormalities due to its high diagnostic accuracy in the detection of malignancy. Percutaneous biopsy in the lung plays a critical role in obtaining pathologic proof of malignancy, guiding staging and planning treatment. This article reviews biopsy techniques and their related efficacy and complications.

The antimicrobial metabolite of the marine sponge Smenospongia aurea was found to be 5-bromo-N,Ar-dimethyltryptamine (4). The same sponge also contained aureol ( 6), an unusual sesquiterpene-hydroquinone derivative. A second sample of S. aurea contained 8-epichromazonarol (20) and the indole 27. Two samples of Smenospongia echina were examined and were shown to contain the antimicrobial constituent 5,6-dibromo-M-N-dimethyltryptamine (3), with small amounts of the phenol 25 in one sample. The structure of aureol (6) was determined by X-ray analysis while those of the remaining compounds were determined from spectroscopic data, particularly 13C NMR spectra, and chemical interconversions.

Siphonodictidine is the major secondary metabolite of an undescribed Indo-Pacific sponge Siphonodictyon sp. that burrows into living coral heads. The structure of siphonodictidine was determined from spectral data. Laboratory bioassays suggest that siphonodictidine and, by analogy, the siphonodictyals from S. coralliphagum are responsible for maintaining zones of dead coral polyps around the oscular chimneys of these sponges.

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