Tumors of the Eye and Ocular Adnexa

Book excerpt: When a specimen representing a tumour or tumour-like lesion of the eye or ocular adnexa is received in most general surgical pathology laboratories, the immediate reaction is one of panic, because these tumours are rarely encountered and often require complex gross dissections based on a knowledge of ocular anatomy that most general surgical pathologists have either never possessed or have long since forgotten. The authors of this volume state that their main objective is to emphasise the important features of these lesions that are of special interest to general and surgical pathologists. In addition to providing complete descriptions of the tumours and tumour-like lesions in the various compartments of the eye and ocular adnexa, the authors correlate the pathologic features with epidemiologic and pathogenetic observations, clinical features, differential diagnosis, and special studies including immunohistochemistry and various molecular approaches. Each anatomic site has a section on normal anatomy and histology and there is a separate chapter on the pathologic examination of ocular specimens so that the general pathologist can approach these uncommonly-encountered specimens with confidence. Because of its scholarly, practical, well illustrated and well-referenced approach, this work will appeal to pathologists and ophthalmologists alike.