Melanotic oncocytic metaplasia of the nasopharynx is a rare condition which is characterized by the presence of usually a small, brown to black colored pigmented lesion around the Eustachian tube opening. Although it is a benign lesion, it may be clinically misdiagnosed as malignant melanoma. Microscopically, melanotic oncocytic metaplasia is a combination of oncocytic metaplasia of the epithelium of the gland and melanin pigmentation in its cytoplasm. In our present study, we report three cases of melanotic oncocytic metaplasia of the nasopharynx. All the three cases occurred in men and were presented as multiple black pigmented lesions around the torus tubarius. Microscopically, mucous glands with diffuse oncocytic metaplasia and numerous black pigments were observed. No cellular atypia was observed. Immunohistochemically, the scattering of S-100 protein-positive, and human melanoma black 45-negative dendritic melanocytes was evident. This is the first report of cases of melanotic oncocytic metaplasia of the nasopharynx in Korea.

A 59-year-old female with diabetes mellitus presented with hypercalcemia and polycythemia. Her serum calcium and intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) levels were increased, and Tc-99m sesta-MIBI scanning showed hot uptake in the lower portion of the left thyroid lobe. After parathyroidectomy, her calcium, iPTH, and polycythemia were normalized. In conclusion, the differential diagnosis of polycythemia and hypercalcemia should also include the possibility of a parathyroid tumor in addition to other neoplasms.

A 27-year-old man presented to the emergency department with sudden onset of massive gross hematuria and urinary retention. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography imaging showed uneven, dilated calices and a narrowing of the renal pelvis in the left kidney; in addition, a large hematoma was noted in the urinary bladder. An emergency cystoscopy was performed following detection of the hematoma and blood clots were removed. A lesional biopsy, a tuberculosis (TB) culture, and urine cytology showed positive results for Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The clinical manifestations of genitourinary tuberculosis are nonspecific and are usually detected at a chronic stage. In conclusion, we report an unusual cause of acute kidney injury associated with a subacute stage of genitourinary tuberculosis that caused mucosal erosion and bleeding in the bladder.

Background: The weight, shape and consistency of the heart, and the thickness of the ventricular wall are used as parameters for evaluating postmortem heart and diagnosing cardiomyopathy at autopsy. Methods: The weight and volume of the ventricles and the thickness of the left ventricular wall of 58 hearts were measured and analyzed. Results: In the group of dilated hearts, the ventricular weight, ventricular volume, ventricular volume/ventricular weight, and left ventricular volume/right ventricular volume increased, whereas ventricular wall thickness decreased. In the group of hypertrophied hearts, the ventricular weight, ventricular volume, and thickness of the ventricular wall increased but ventricular volume/ventricular weight and left ventricular volume/ right ventricular volume did not change significantly. In the group of undetermined hearts, it was later found that four of the cases should have been included in the dilated heart group and another two cases in the hypertrophied heart group. Conclusions: In addition to conventional methods, the measuring ventricular volume is useful for evaluating a postmortem heart and may suggest postmortem differential diagnoses of dilated or hypertrophied forms of secondary cardiomyopathies.