A cytological study of mammary disease

An analysis is presented of 887 cytological biopsies performed on 610 patients with mammary disease, including 510 fine needle aspirations. Technical details of fine needle biopsy, imprints, and scrape-smears are provided, together with both histological and cytological descriptions. The case material has been classified into 6 series, the most important being a clinicocytological study in which fine needle biopsy achieved a 96.2% accuracy rate in respect of breast cancer. The status of cytology in the clinical management of mammary disease is evaluated.