Small biopsies in the head and neck: Bone and soft tissue

Abstract

Bone and soft tissue lesions in the head and neck encompass not only a broad morphologic spectrum but also significant inherent clinicopathologic overlap. Epidemiology, radiology, and location – similar to the diagnostic assessment in other sites – are especially important considerations in the context of an established mesenchymal proliferation. Herein, the approach towards diagnosis is stratified by morphology (spindle, sarcomatoid, epithelioid, round cell), cellular lineage (fibroblastic, nerve sheath, rhabdomyogenic), and tumor grade (benign, low- to high-grade malignant) as the basis of further immunohistochemical or molecular investigation.