Fine-needle aspiration cytology is found to be a good sensitive and specific technique for the diagnosis of most of the salivary gland lesions. FNAC should be adopted as an initial investigation for all salivary gland swellings in conjunction with other investigations where appropriate.

The ectodermal dysplasias (EDs) are a large and complex group of diseases. More than 170 different clinical conditions have been recognized and defined as ectodermal dysplasias. Commonly involved ectodermal-derived structures are hair, teeth, nails, and sweat glands. In some conditions, it may be associated with mental retardation. We report a case of 10-year-old male child with ectrodactyly, syndactyly, ED, cleft lip/palate, hearing loss, and mental retardation.

Objective:Saliva is one of the vital fluids secreted in human beings. Significant amount of saliva is deposited on the skin during biting, sucking or licking, and can act as an important source in forensic evidence. An enzyme, α amylase, gives a characteristic emission spectrum at 345–355 nm when excited at 282 nm and this can be identified by using fluorescent spectroscopy and can help in forensic identification. This study describes a rapid method to detect dried saliva on the human skin by fluorescent spectroscopy.Materials and Methods:This study included 10 volunteers, who deposited their own saliva on skin of their ventral forearm by licking and water on the contralateral arm as control. This study was carried out at Central Leather Research Institute, Chennai.Study design:Ten volunteers deposited their own saliva on skin of their ventral forearm by licking. A control sample of water was deposited at the contralateral arm. Each sample was excited at 282 nm and emission spectrum was recorded.Results:The emission spectra of 10 swab samples taken from dried saliva were characterized at the primary peak of 345 to 355 nm whereas the emission spectrum of water as a control was recorded at 362 nm.Conclusion:The presence of emission spectrum at 345–355 nm with excitation at 282 nm proves to be a strong indicator of saliva deposited on human skin.

Plasma cell neoplasia is a lymphoid neoplastic proliferation of B cells and has been classified as multiple myeloma, solitary plasmacytoma, and extramedullary plasmacytoma. Extramedullary plasmacytoma is defined as neoplastic proliferation of plasma cells in the soft tissue. Extramedullary plasmacytoma of the head and neck is very uncommon tumors, representing approximately 0.4% of all head and neck malignancies; amongst them, plasmacytoma of the maxilla is extremely rare. We present a case of a 70-year-old male with swelling on the right middle third of the face, mimicking an abscess, but proven to be extramedullary plasmacytoma. This report discusses the clinical, radiographic, histological, and immunohistochemical features of extramedullary plasmacytoma.