Clinical Study

Microradiography of Microcalcifications in Breast Specimen: A New Histological Correlation Procedure and the Effect of Improved Resolution on Diagnostic Validity

Figure 4

Fibrocystic mastopathy with sclerosing adenosis. Conventional specimen radiography show some amorphous and indistinct calcifications (a). The amorphous calcifications are microradiographically displayed as a summation effect of round and smooth calcifications of varying sizes. Diffuse amorphous microcalcifications are also visible (triangles in (b)) and result in the spotted shadowing in conventional specimen radiography. Fibrocystic mastopathy with sclerosing adenosis is demonstrated histologically (c). Only a few fragments of the large round calcifications in the cysts are histologically visible (arrow in (c)). The amorphous calcifications are almost completely lost during histological preparation. As a result of the shape of the calcification area and the specimen, the amorphous calcifications can be clearly correlated to a histological area of sclerosing adenosis (triangles in (b) and (c)). The calcifications are intraluminal calcifications in sclerosing adenosis.
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(a)
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(b)
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(c)