PDF: Fine needle aspiration biopsy in the oral cavity and head and neck region


In 1930, two doctors from a New York hospital, Martin and Colley, and a technical developer, Ellis, conducted aspirations from several organs and conducted cytological studies on them.


FNAB is primarily used for biopsies of palpable masses and deep lesions with difficult access. It is also widely used in the head and neck regions, such as in the thyroid, lymph nodes, major salivary glands and others neoplasias. In the oral cavity, the FNAB method is rarely used.


The most common masses biopsied in this manner are odontogenic tumors, intraosseous lesions, minor salivary gland tumors, sublingual salivary glands and other oral regions. 

However, some reports have described the relevance of FNAB for the diagnosis of oral cavity lesions and oropharyngeal lesions.

The most commonly described advantages of the FNAB method are the preoperative diagnoses of lesions, clinical follow-up, the ability to avoid unnecessary damage to crucial structures of the oral cavity, more comfort for the patient and a low risk of infection and tissue damage.



The most commonly reported disadvantages are the fact that there is little space to perform the backward and forward movement necessary to complete the procedure, and the difficulty involved in fixing the lesion.

The objective of the current study was to evaluate the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy of fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) of submucous nodules from the oral cavity and head and neck region as an auxiliary diagnostic tool.






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