Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 28, 2026

Dissection of Midgut and Salivary Glands from Ae. aegypti Mosquitoes
Published on: July 4, 2007
A Call for Universal Acceptance of the Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology
Eric Barbarite1, Sidharth V Puram2,3, Adeeb Derakhshan1
1Department of Otolaryngology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U. S.A.
Objectives:
The Milan System for Reporting Salivary Gland Cytopathology (MSRSGC) established a standardized, tiered reporting system for salivary gland fine-needle aspiration (FNA) that has gained international acceptance among cytologists. Our goal was to review the key features of the MSRSGC to familiarize the surgical community with this system and its application to the FNA evaluation of salivary gland masses.
Methods:
A comprehensive review of the MSRSGC and its application in clinical practice.
Results:
The MSRSGC consists of six major diagnostic categories: 1) nondiagnostic, 2) non-neoplastic, 3) atypia of undetermined significance, 4) neoplasm (benign or salivary gland neoplasm of uncertain malignant potential), 5) suspicious for malignancy, and 6) malignant. Each diagnostic category is associated with an implied risk of malignancy with implications for clinical management.
Conclusions:
The MSRSGC is similar to the system used for reporting thyroid FNA, which is familiar to most otolaryngologists and head and neck surgeons. As this reporting system continues to gain popularity among pathologists, widespread understanding by surgeons will be important to standardize communication and classification of salivary gland cytopathology to improve clinical care. Laryngoscope, 130:80-85, 2020.
Related Concept Videos
Salivary Glands and Saliva
Hypothesis: Accept or Fail to Reject?
There are two ways to indicate that the null hypothesis is not rejected. 'Accept' the null...
Exocrine Glands: Unicellular and Multicellular Glands
Data Reporting and Recording
Types of Reports I: Hands-off Report
Following are the key components and categories of hand-off reports:
Purpose and Process:
The Thyroid Gland
The follicles have a central cavity lined by simple cuboidal to squamous epithelial cells called follicular cells. These cells produce the glycoprotein...

