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Adipocytes: answers
A H
No. These are sebocytes. If aspirated from a wart-like Yes.
cutaneous mass they would lead you to a diagnosis of
sebaceous adenoma, or sebaceous hyperplasia. They are I
sometimes seen incidentally in aspirates from dermal
No. Nuclei are too prominent and densely clustered for a
and subcutaneous masses.
lipoma. This was an aspirate from a liposarcoma.
Although features of malignancy are not sufficiently
B pronounced to diagnose a liposarcoma from this image
Yes. alone, there is sufficient atypia to raise the suspicion that
this is not merely a lipoma.
C
No. The highly vacuolated cells are lipid-laden J
macrophages and there are also some ill-defined Yes.
non-vacuolated cells present (possible epithelioid
macrophages or fibroblasts). This was an aspirate from a K
xanthoma.
Yes. Although cells are quite densely clustered, nuclei are
small and indistinct, and nuclear: cytoplasmic ratio is
D low.
Yes.
L
E No. Well differentiated adipocytes are present but there
Yes. are also much smaller cells – neutrophils and some
indistinct spindloid cells (possible fibroblasts) can be
F discerned. Inflammation is present in addition to the fat.
This was an aspirate from an area of steatitis.
Yes.

Bonus question
G
A capillary fragment (note the erythrocytes within the
Yes (the small greenish spherical structures are starch
tubular structure). Lipomas are occasionally quite
granules from glove powder).
vascular.

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38 · Companion OCTOBER 2019  ·  © BSAVA 2019
On: Sat, 07 Aug 2021 05:40:40