December, 2003

Case 121:
A 70-year-old man was seen by an ophthalmologist for eye pain.  Upon examination, the doctor found and removed a subconjuctival worm that was enclosed in a cyst.  The man had no recent travel outside the United States (had traveled to Central America over 5 years ago) and reported that he did have pets at home.  Figure A shows the cyst and the worm it contained; the worm was approximately 92 mm in length.  Figure B shows the posterior end of the worm at 100× and Figure C shows the midbody of the worm at 200×.  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A	B

C

Acknowledgement: This case kindly provided by the Dr. William Lushbaugh and the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Click here for the answer to Case 121.

Case 122:
A 24-year-old man experienced diarrhea that was mucoid and bloody, and he also had fever and gastrointestinal pain and cramping.  His condition became severe and he was taken to the emergency room where physicians removed part of his colon.  Figures A and B below show what was seen on a histological section from the colon, stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H & E).  What is your diagnosis?  Based on what criteria?

A	B

Acknowledgement: This case kindly provided by the Frank Meglio from the Rhode Island Department of Health Laboratory and images were scanned from 2x2 Kodachrome slides.

Click here for the answer to Case 122.

Images presented in the monthly case studies are from specimens submitted for diagnosis or archiving.  On rare occasions, clinical histories given may be partly fictitious.