This course is designed to provide an overview of diagnostically challenging, yet relatively common entities encountered in the daily practice of cytopathology. This is a practically oriented course which focuses on a wide spectrum of cytologic problems seen in common specimen types (Pap tests, urine cytology, thyroid FNA, lung FNA, EUS-guided FNA, and body fluids).

The novelty of this course is the use of virtual microscopic slides to illustrate the challenging cases. In general, the course will be based on "key cases", which will be presented in the form of virtual slides. These cases will be representative of common diagnostic challenges facing practicing pathologists and will serve as a spring board for the discussion of select difficult topics encountered daily. These included glandular lesions in the Pap test, low-grade urothelial carcinoma in urine cytology, follicular neoplasms of the thyroid, low-grade lung carcinoma, mucinous neoplasms of the pancreas, and the differential diagnosis of mesothelioma vs. adenocarcinoma in body fluid cytology. Virtual slides will be incorporated into a Power Point presentation and presented to the audience. The case presentations will cover key cytologic features, differential diagnoses, histologic correlation, the impact of clinical management, and recent ancillary diagnostic techniques.

Each course participant will be able to review an entire slide on each case, evaluate overall cellularity, find potential diagnostic areas, and form differential diagnoses prior to the course. The participants will also receive a CD with representative cytologic images and a syllabus with diagnostic features, differential diagnoses and a comprehensive reference list.

After completion of this course, there will be an extensive post-test which the participants may use as a Self-Assessment tool. They will be able to: 1) develop a systematic approach to the diagnostic challenges encountered in daily cytology practice; 2) understand the significance of cytologic-histologic correlation in the practice of cytopathology; and 3) learn the application and limitations of ancillary techniques and use of molecular markers in cytopathology.

This course may be used for CME credits or SAM's credits.