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Castleman's disease is an unusual condition characterized by uncontrolled growth of lymphoid tissue. The first case was recorded by Castleman in 1956. In this paper a case of the above-mentioned disease is reported with regard to its unusual clinica-histologic aspect (localized form of plasmacellular type) and surgical therapeutic strategies.

On the basis of recent literature, earlier contributions made by this department and personal experience, the A. report their findings and comments on mastalgia, a frequent symptom in modern female pathologies. They affirm that good results have been achieved through information, health education and treatment with non-steroid anti-inflammatory drugs, without resorting to hormone therapy except in carefully selected cases.

The increasingly frequent use of invasive diagnostic and therapeutic procedures concerning the hepatobiliary system has led to a rise in the incidence of hemobilia as well as altering its etiological status. The authors report a clinical case of hemobilia secondary to percutaneous hepatic biopsy which was brought to their attention. This is followed by a short discussion of the etiopatogenesis and diagnostic and therapeutic strategies with special reference to the ratio between the advantages/limits of the methods now available.

The Authors briefly summarise their experience of using various types of mechanical staplers in abdominal and thoracic surgery with excellent results both in general and in terms of reducing operating times.

The paper reports a number of cases of uncommon metastasis confirmed by histological tests in surgical biopsies; following a brief discussion of the literature on this topic and in particular on the basis of an earlier study by one of the authors, the paper affirms that metastasis is related to general and local biological factors, that the diffusion of neoplastic cells is an early and generalised phenomenon opposed by organic defence mechanisms, and that the concept of uncommon metastasis should be revised, without resorting to fixed anatomical references, according to a general "impregnation" of tumour cells.

The paper reports the Authors' experience in over 12,000 patients affected by manifest or presumed breast pathologies examined using contact thermography and assess the number of correct responses. This technique proved reliable in patients aged under 30 with benign pathologies or palpable nodules. On the other hand, it was not reliable in the case of pathologies with negative objectivity, and therefore in the context of screening programmes for the early diagnosis of tumours.