Crystalloids in a cystic lesion of parotid salivary gland: Diagnosis by fine‐needle aspiration

Abstract

Crystalline structures measuring < 800 microns in length, were found in smears of a fine-needle aspirate of a cystic lesion in a parotid salivary gland. Numerous neutrophil leukocytes were also present, intimately mixed with the crystalloids. The lesion was re-aspirated and the cyst completely evacuated, with no recurrence after a 6-month follow up.

Amylase crystalloids on fine-needle aspiration of the salivary gland

“…Moreover, amylase crystalloids can measure up to 500 μm whereas intraluminal crystalloids only measure up to 100 μm (19,20). Crystalloids observed in our study were morphologically similar to α-amylase crystalloids described in the literature (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8).…”

“…They were first observed by Takeda and Ishikawa in a human salivary duct cyst in 1983 (7). In 1993, Jayaram et al first described crystalloids in fine-needle aspiration (FNA) smears from a parotid cyst (8). Amylase crystalloids can be seen in some cases of chronic sialadenitis as well as cystic lesions, (1,2).…”

Αlfa-Amylase Crystalloid Granuloma in the Parotis Salivary Gland: Case Report

“…tarafından da ilk kez 1993 yılında parotis uygulanan ince iğne aspirasyon biyopsisinde sitolojik olarak tanımlanmış-tır. 5,6 Daha sonra Johnson ve ark. ise bu kristaloid yapıları bazılarının alfa-amilaz kökenli olduğunu ve diğer bazı kristaloid yapılarından farklı olduğunu ortaya koymuşlardır.…”

“…Dikdörtgen şekillidirler ve karakteristik olarak mikroskobik görünümleri "ataç benzeri" olarak tanımlanır. 5 Bu yapılar histokimyasal olarak Papanicolau boyası ile canlı turuncu, Giemsa boyası ile derin mavi renkte boyanma özel-liğindedir. 7,8 Bizim olgumuzda da dilate duktusun içinde bazıları yabancı cisim tipi dev hücrelerce fagosite edilmiş, eozinofilik, yuvarlak-köşeli ya da romboid karakterde farklı şekillerde çok sayıda kristaloid görülmüştür.…”

Crystalloids in Submandibular Sialadenitis

“…They suggested that crystalloids resulted from deposition from supersaturated saliva containing sulphur containing compound. From the Indian subcontinent, Jayaram et al [6] was the first to describe such crystalline structures in FNA of benign cystic parotid glands in 1993. Johnson et al [7] established that these crystalloids represent crystallized alpha-amylase and are different from the tyrosine-rich crystalloids (sun-burst or petal-like structures with blunt ends), or collagen-rich crystalloids (radially arranged fibers of collagen around a clear central area) which are reported in pleomorphic adenomas.…”