The Seeds of Doubt: Finding Seeds in Intriguing Places

Federica Grillo; Michela Campora; Laura Cornara; Alberta Cascini; Simona Pigozzi; Paola Migliora; Francesca Sarocchi; Luca Mastracci

doi:10.3389/fmed.2021.655113

The Seeds of Doubt: Finding Seeds in Intriguing Places

Front Med (Lausanne). 2021 Apr 14:8:655113. doi: 10.3389/fmed.2021.655113. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Federica Grillo^{1

2}, Michela Campora¹, Laura Cornara³, Alberta Cascini³, Simona Pigozzi^{1

2}, Paola Migliora⁴, Francesca Sarocchi⁵, Luca Mastracci^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Pathology Unit, Department of Surgical and Diagnostic Sciences (DISC), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
² Ospedale Policlinico San Martino, Genoa, Italy.
³ Department for the Earth, Environment and Life Sciences (DiSTAV), University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy.
⁴ Clinical Cytopathology Service and Pathology Institute of Locarno, Locarno, Switzerland.
⁵ Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.

Abstract

Introduction: Seeds may be found in gastrointestinal tissue samples, and their multifaceted appearance may be challenging. The aim is to report a rough incidence of pathology samples which show seeds, specify the most frequent sample types and show an iconography of the most commonly identified seeds. Materials and Methods: Between 2017 and 2020, all gastrointestinal pathology cases in which seeds/seed parts were found, were collected and seed type described by referencing a seed image library. Results: Fifty cases with complete seeds/seed parts were collected: 16 colonic resections for colorectal cancer and diverticulosis, 13 appendiceal resections for appendicitis, 1 gastric resection. Fifteen cases were found in polypectomy specimens and 5 cases in colorectal endoscopic biopsies. Most frequent seed types were tomato, kiwi, blueberry, and blackberry seeds. Conclusion: Seeds may be found in up to 4% of specimens; their recognition may be useful to exclude parasitic infections as well as in forensic sciences.

Keywords: appendicitis; diverticular disease; endoscopic biopsy; gastrointestinal pathology; polipectomy; seeds.