Common Lesions of the Larynx and Hypopharynx

Benign and malignant lesions of the larynx and hypopharynx present an interesting and diverse spectrum of diagnostic entities, which may be infrequently encountered in routine surgical pathology practice. This article places emphasis on illustrating the classical pathologic characteristics, differential diagnosis, clinical significance, and presentation of common lesions unique to these sites. The initial diagnosis of these lesions is via small endoscopic biopsy. Many of the entities have overlapping histologic features which necessitate optimizing the information available in a small sample. The focus of this article is to provide useful criteria to enable separating the more common types of lesions encountered in these sites.