A forum dedicated to the expansion in neuropathology knowledge for students and practitioners alike.
On gross examination, hemangioblastoma characteristically exhibits a yellow to yellow-orange color (similar to that of adipose tissue) due to the presence of lipid within the cytoplasm of neoplastic cells. On microscopic examination, the cells appear clear because the lipid that once filled the cytoplasm was washed out during tissue processing. Hemangioblastoma usually arises within the... Continue Reading →
Renal cell carcinoma, a relatively common cancer of the kidney, is a highly vascular lesion that will typically bleed extensively during surgery. Just prior to surgery this renal cell carcinoma that had metastasized to the paraspinal soft tissue was embolized using PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), the blue foreign embolic material within the vessel lumen. This process of embolization was... Continue Reading →
Metastatic cancers (i.e. cancers that originate somewhere else and travel to the brain usually via the bloodstream) can occur singly or, as pictured here, as multiple lesions. Sometimes brain metastases represent the initial clue that the person has cancer somewhere else in the body, as was the case for this patient who was found to have three enhancing cerebral lesions... Continue Reading →
Hemangioblastoma is highly vascular tumor with neoplastic stromal/interstitial cells that have a variably clear cell appearance due to their lipid and glycogen cytoplasmic contents. Hemangioblastomas can be found in patients with von Hippel Lindau (VHL) syndrome, who also have increased risk of developing renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Immunostains can be used to differentiate the inhibin-positive... Continue Reading →
Adventures in Neuropathology 