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Atlas of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology pp 1–33Cite as

Introduction

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Abstract

Fine-needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) has been used as a tool to obtain specimens for the morphological diagnosis of numerous lesions in a variety of locations for more than 70 years. In many clinical situations, FNAC can render a definitive diagnosis either from aspiration smears alone using well-defined cytological criteria or from smears combined with clinical data, radiological findings, and the results of ancillary studies. Today, this technique is more powerful than ever in making rapid preliminary diagnoses in neoplastic and nonneoplastic conditions, guiding further work-up of the patient or even allowing the initiation of definitive treatment. The use of ever more sophisticated ancillary methods on aspiration specimens, such as molecular/genetic analysis and immunocytochemistry, allows a diagnosis of tumors that can be used for predicting prognosis and tailoring individualized “targeted” oncological therapy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Skåne University Hospital, Sölvegatan 25, 22185, Lund, Sweden

    Henryk A. Domanski MD, PhD

  2. Department of Clinical Genetics, Skåne University Hospital, 22185, Lund, Sweden

    Fredrik Mertens MD, PhD

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  1. Henryk A. Domanski MD, PhD
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Correspondence to Henryk A. Domanski MD, PhD .

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  1. Department of Pathology and Cytology, Skåne University Hospital, Skåne, Sweden

    Henryk A. Domanski

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Domanski, H.A., Mertens, F. (2014). Introduction. In: Domanski, H. (eds) Atlas of Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-2446-7_1

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