Tufts Pathology Department

🔬The beauty of science has been preserved in this slide since the 60's!

This is a lantern slide from retired pathologist Dr. Mellor's collection. He aided in the discovery of pathologic diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematous.

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📷 Photo creds: Alicia Dessain, PGY-3

Meet Tufts Department of Pathology's fellows! We have been lucky enough to have them for 2020 academic year. Read about where they will be heading next!

Fellowship openings are also available, please head to Tufts website for more information!

🔬Have you ever seen such pristine cilia with terminal bar? These respiratory cells are from a section of lung in a newborn infant with extralobar sequestration. This is a condition in which there is a segment of lung WITHOUT a normal connection to the main airway system. So these little hair-like cilia never even touched air or got to do their job of moving🦠 microbes and debris out of the airways.

🤔Other notable features of extralobar sequestration:
-Arterial supply from the aortic branches (NOT pulmonary arteries), appreciated on CT imaging studies
-Dilated bronchiole like spaces and dilated alveoli
-Lymphatic dilatation
-Mucin accumulation
-Large tortuous arteries



📷 Photo creds: Alicia Dessain PGY-3, Chief Resident

A beautiful pattern!🔬

Ameloblastoma is the second most common odontogenic tumor (benign), after odontoma. Key diagnostic features include:
- Peripheral palisading columnar cells at the basal layer
- Reverse polarization of these cells away from the basement membrane
- Stellate reticulum-like angular cells in the middle of the islands🏝️

This subtype was both follicular and plexiform (incredible anastomosing cords and sheets).



📷 Photo creds: Alicia Dessain PGY-3, Chief Resident

The fun thing about pathology is finding things in unexpected places!🔍

This is a case of normal adrenal tissue in an unusual location (near the o***y).

🔬Diagnosis? Adrenal Heterotopia!



📷Photo creds: Stephanie Conrad, PGY-2

🤔Did you know your outer surface of your lung has elastic fibers to help maintain the right pressures when you breath?

Here is a nice case of visceral pleural tumor invasion demonstrated with an elastic stain: The pink arrow shows thick black and curvy elastic fibers covering the large pale tumor cells (lung adenocarcinoma).🔬

➡️The blue arrow shows an area where the elastic fibers are interrupted and being infiltrated by the tumor cells (purple circle). The blue ink marks the outer pleural surface of this lung specimen.

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📷 Creds: Dr. Alicia Dessain PGY-3, Chief Resident

This pearly tumor is a epidermoid cyst. It is the 3rd most common lesion in cerebellopontine angle after schwannoma and meningioma.



📷Photo creds: Dr. Arkun, Director of Autopsy and Neuropathology

A typical day on service at Tufts Medical Center. Armed for brain cutting with our MS-4 student.🧠



Left: Alicia Dessain, Chief resident
Center: Knarik Arkun, Director of Neuropathology and Autopsy Service
Right: MS-4 student, currently engaged in our 4 week CP/AP rotation.

👩‍🔬What is so strange about this image?
Could it be…bone marrow in the blood vessel of a lung?! 🦴🩸

🔎Notice the adipose tissue and trilineage hematopoiesis lined by a blood vessel. Bone marrow emboli in the lung are rare but can occur following bone fracture. In this case it was following fractured ribs from chest compressions.

While it was not the cause of death here, fat emboli can be life threatening  and should be considered in autopsy of patients involved in trauma.🔬

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📷Photo creds: Alicia Dessain, chief resident PGY-3

👀Looking for strong 💪 CP training? Look no further than Tufts! 

As residents we get to be involved in many aspects of the Clinical Lab, including serum protein electrophoresis (SPEP)  sign out! 

Images show SPEP and immuno fixation (IFE). On SPEP (first image) we see a peak in the gamma region (shaded black) and on IFE (second image) we see IgG kappa bands. 

These tests are ordered when screening for monoclonal gammopathies. When a monoclonal protein is suspected on SPEP we will perform an IFE to further identify the heavy and light chains.

Our role is crucial in the follow-up of these patients as they undergo treatment. 👩‍⚕️

📷 Photo Creds: Stephanie Conrad PGY-2

Meet Dr. Daniel Rust, a board certified pediatric pathologist. He is our director of surgical pathology at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Rust also serves as a assistant professor at Tufts Medical School.👨‍🏫

Dr. Arnold is a cytopathologist & surgical pathologist here at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Arnolds clinical focus is in cytopathology.

With a background in art he was drawn to pathology due to its visual nature. "Alot of my job is interpreting images".

Dr. Arnold believes one of the perks of living in a big city like Boston is there is always something happening. One of his favorite things to do in the city is visiting museum's.