Application of Total Organ Laryngeal Section

THE APPLICATION of total organ, coronal section investigations to the study of laryngeal pathology has provided an insight into the nature of certain lesions. The benefits of this form of histopathological examination are illustrated in the study of laryngeal cancer. Pathways and patterns of invasion, both extralaryngeal and endolaryngeal, can be traced through the three dimensions of the larynx. Twelve of the specimens involved in this study were cancerous larynges, but two specimens of congenital subglottic stenosis and one of unilateral cord palsy in an infant, have been included. Laryngeal Cancer The mode and extent of spread of all cancers are determined to some extent by the type and grade of the neoplasm. Laryngeal growths illustrated this feature. The more poorly differentiated examples exhibited qualities of extensive and destructive invasion. Occasionally, varying degrees of differentiation existed within the same neoplasm, illustrating that a single biopsy may not necessarily give