Primary extracranial meningiomas are uncommon; they have been documented in the ear, skin, orbit, parapharyngeal space, parotid gland, mediastinum, and rarely the paranasal sinuses. Tuberoussclerosis is an autosomal dominant neurocutaneous syndrome characterized by multiple connective tissue tumours. We report the first case of a tuberous sclerosis patient with a maxillary antral meningioma.

Terminal duct carcinoma of salivary glands is an uncommon, histologically distinctive, low grade malignant neoplasm arising from the intercalated salivary duct. We present a case arising eight years after removal of a parotid tumour reported as a pleomorphic adenoma. We describe the clinico-pathological features of the present tumour, illustrate the difficulties that may be encountered in differentiating it from other salivary gland tumours, and discuss the possible significance of the previous tumour.

Pseudoaneurysm of the internal carotid artery is an uncommon but potentially lethal complication of tonsillar or peritonsillar sepsis, which appears to have occurred more frequently prior to the introduction of penicillin. Management of such a case is discussed, and a literature review presented.

Many dental plates are made of materials that are radiolucent. If inhaled or swallowed they may be difficult to detect and where there is strong suspicion of inhalation, early bronchoscopy should be carried out even if plain X-rays show no abnormality. The details of three patients are reported.

Oesophageal foreign bodies are common occurrences. A variety of cases have been reported in the past. We present here a unique case of an unusually placed foreign body.

Parenchymal pulmonary endometriosis is an extremely rare but well described condition. We present four new cases, and discuss the examination and treatment of these patients. We conclude that the condition may be underdiagnozed, and that it is a relatively harmless disorder. We propose treatment with progesterone as the first choice of treatment. None of our patients needed surgical treatment.

An unusual case of synergistic infection caused by Salmonella paratyphi and anaerobic streptococcus resulting in necrotizing cervical infection associated with deep neck abscess and internal jugular vein thrombosis, is presented. Salmonella acting as an oxygen consumer in the infected tissues, facilitates the growth of anaerobic cocci, hence the development of a devastating soft tissue infection. The precipitating cause was a tonsillar infection developing due to ‘post-anginal sepsis’. The aetiopathogenesis of the cervical infection is discussed.

The histopathological spectrum of neuroendocrine neoplasms of the larynx includes a subset that may be indistinguishable from a medullary carcinoma of the thyroid gland. For a patient who presents with a medullary carcinoma-like metastasis in a cervicallymph node and in whom there is no clinically demonstrable thyroid lesion, a laryngeal atypical carcinoid must be excluded. The literature's third example ofa primary medullary carcinoma-like atypical carcinoid of the larynx is presented.

The occurrence of acinic cell carcinoma in the minor salivary glands appears to he exceptional. A review of the English language literature revealed about 80 previously reported cases. In this paper. the clinical behaviour and pathological findings in three cases are reported.

The tumours took their origin from the hard palate, soft palate and lower lip. The three cases presented with malignant clinical behaviour; all three recurred. In one case the local recurrence was multinodular with capsular infiltration. Two cases developed regional lymph node metastasis, and one metasized to the lung and liver. In one the tumour infiltrated bony structures, and nerve in another. These cases tend to support the belief of some authors that acinic cell ‘tumours’ are clinically malignant and should be included in the carcinoma group.

The giant cell variant of malignant fibrous histiocytoma is a rare entity in head and neck. Only eight well documented cases of this type are reported in the English literature. These tumours affect the superficial and deep structures of the neck most often and are best treated with prompt radical surgery. The prognosis of the giant cell type of malignant fibrous histiocytoma is dependent on the location of the tumour, with superficial tumours having a much better outlook.

Chondrosarcoma is rarely found arising in the head and neck region. An unusual case arising in the parapharyngeal space in a male is reported and the differential diagnosis, pathology and treatment are discussed.

Cartilaginous tumours occurring in the head and neck are usually regarded and seen as solitary lesions. However, we present an unique case where the cartilaginous tumour in the ENT region was the presenting feature of Ollier's disease (multiple enchondromatosis). It is recommended that further investigations be carried out in patients with cartilaginous tumours presenting in the head and neck to exclude the possible presence of this unusual and interesting syndrome.

Primary extramedullary piasmacytomas (PEMP) are uncommon plasma cell neoplasms that generally occur in the submucosal tissue of the upper airway. Salivary gland PEMP is an extremely rare condition. This report describes a unique case of PEMPin the parotid gland asociated with pulmonary amyloidosis. A review of all salivary gland PEMP's suggests that they behave similarly to PEMP's in other locations. The treatment of choice forlocalized disease is radiotherapy which should include regional lymphatics. Local controlcan be achieved in the majority of cases. The minority of patients develop systemic metastases and die from their disease. Chemotherapy can control disseminated disease and may induce remission.

Tuberculosis may present in many different forms and is known to occur in the cervical spine and salivary glands. It may present as in this case, with the signs of spread before the initial infection becomes apparent.

Haemangiopericytoma is an uncommon vascular tumour frequently diagnosed with difficulty. The immunohistochemical findings of strong positivity to vimentin together with other diagnostic features (histological and ultrastructural) improves the certainty of its diagnosis. We report a case arising in the nose and outline diagnostic problems especially relating to histopathology.