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Each year ovarian cancer afflicts 204,000 women worldwide and claims 125,000 lives. Surface epithelial tumours form the majority of ovarian neoplasms. In fact the term ‘ovarian cancer’ is practically used almost synonymously with surface epithelial malignancies. The tumours include a number of diverse entities with distinct molecular genetics, pathology and clinical outcomes. Common to many of the tumour types in this category is the existence of benign and borderline in addition to malignant counterparts. These tumours are associated with nulliparity and obesity while pregnancy and oral contraception appear to play a protective role, suggesting a direct role of ovulation-related events in causing the disease. The non-specific nature of the presenting symptoms and inconsistent signs of early cancers result late presentation and high mortality. In recent years, there have been significant advances in the understanding of the origins of these fascinating neoplasms, not only in their molecular genetics but also in the discovery that many of these have extraovarian, in particular tubal, origins. These have exciting implications for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of these tumours. This chapter is a summary of the diagnostic pathology of epithelial ovarian malignancies with emphasis on recent developments.

Intestinal neuronal dysplasia is a rare cause of bowel obstruction in neonates and infants, the diagnosis of which poses a formidable challenge to both clinicians and pathologists alike. The importance of this entity lies not only in the fact that it mimics Hirschsprung's disease, but also in that untreated cases, particularly of type A, may prove fatal. The authors describe one such case of intestinal neuronal dysplasia of type A, which was diagnosed at autopsy.

Megacystis microcolon intestinal hypoperistalsis syndrome (MMIHS) is a rare cause of intestinal obstruction mainly affecting female neonates. We present a case of a newborn female infant with a history of abdominal distension, bilious vomiting and decreased urine output. Barium enema showed a microcolon. Patient died soon after admission and the autopsy revealed a shortened bowel, a microcolon with abundant ganglion cells in the myenteric plexus, and an enlarged urinary bladder. An interesting finding in this case was the presence of enlarged nerve bundles containing several large ganglion cells on the lateral wall of the cervix. The salient clinical and autopsy findings in this case are presented.