Hamartoma of the lungs

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I N 1904 Albrecht' described instances of biliarv harnartomas He defined as tumor-like malformations in which occur only abnormal mixing of the normal components of the organ The abnormality may take the form of change in quantity, arrangement, or degree of differentiation, or may comprise all three. The deduction to be drawn from the histologic examination of these formations is that they have originated in abnormal mixing of their development . The lesions have been variously reported as pa.pillomas, fibroadenomas, chondromas, mixed tumors, hamartoma chondromatosum, adenochondrouras and lipochondromas. Many of these tumors embrace all of the bronchial anlagen, both mesodermal and endodermal tissues Albrecht designated all of these mixed tumors as hamartomas. So-called cliondromas of the lung are in reality hamartomas and, according to Jones,° they constitute 0.25 per cent of all routine autopsy cases McDonald, Harrington and Clagett' report twenty hamartomas in a series of 7,972 necropsies, an incidence of 0.25 per cent These chondromas of the lung contain bronchial epithelium in clefts between cartilaginous masses and may also include the mucoid, fibrous, lymphoid and muscular tissues The term hamartoma. should be reserved for this type of lesion Hickey and Simpson' reviewed forty cases of primary chondroma of the lung and added two cases of their own Microscopic examinations of their own cases indicated a composition of islands of cartilage, myxomatous connective tissue, adipose tissue, mature fibrous connective tissue and papilliferous gland-like structures, covered by a single layer of non-ciliated cuboid or columnar epithelial cells In some areas the tumors were covered by stratified ciliated epithelium and contained lime salt deposits Generally the tumors contained the structures previously enumerated, although in a few instances osseous tissues were present