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Paraganglioma: an unusual tumour of the parathyroid gland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 June 2007

W. G. McCluggage*
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Royal Group of Hospitals, Belfast.
C. H. S. Cameron
Affiliation:
School of Clinical Medicine, The Queen's University of Belfast.
D. Brooker
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Royal Group of Hospitals, Belfast.
M. D. O'Hara
Affiliation:
Department of Pathology, Royal Group of Hospitals, Belfast. School of Clinical Medicine, The Queen's University of Belfast.
*
Address for correspondence: Dr W. G. McCluggage, Department of Pathology, Royal Group of Hospitals Trust, Grosvenor Road, Belfast BT12 6BL. Fax: 01232 233643

Abstract

A case of paraganglioma arising within a parathyroid gland is reported. The lesion was an incidental finding in a block dissection of neck performed for squamous carcinoma of the pharynx. A well-circumscribed lesion, exhibiting the characteristic pathological features of a paraganglioma, was embedded within the right inferior parathyroid gland. Due to its location, the chief histological differential diagnosis was an unusual variant of parathyroid adenoma. Immunohistochemistry and electron microscopy assisted in reaching a diagnosis. This, as far as we are aware, is the first reported case of a paraganglioma of the parathyroid gland.

Type
Pathology in Focus
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 1996

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