PARAGANGLIOMA - AN UNUSUAL TUMOR OF THE PARATHYROID-GLAND

A case of paraganglioma arising within a parathyroid gland is reported . The lesion was an incidental finding in a block dissection of neck p erformed for squamous carcinoma of the pharynx. A well-circumscribed l esion, exhibiting the characteristic pathological features of a paraga nglioma, was embedded within the right inferior parathyroid gland. Due to its location, the chief histological differential diagnosis was an unusual variant of parathyroid adenoma. Immunohistochemistry and elec tron microscopy assisted in reaching a diagnosis. This, as far as we a re aware, is the first reported case of a paraganglioma of the parathy roid gland.