[Diagnostic value of aspiration biopsy of thyroid cysts (author's transl)]

In the country of Krakow, which is an endemic place for thyroid diseases, most of the thyroid cysts are related to inflammatory reactions and, therefore, they may be treated, but there are also some malignant tumors which must not be overlooked. The aspiration biopsy of 124 cysts of the thyroid enables the authors to compare the results of the cytological examination to the biochemical assays of the fluid and to identify rapidly evolutive inflammatory cysts, slowly evolutive resorptive cysts and cancerous cysts.