Celiac ganglia diagnosed on endoscopic ultrasound fine-needle aspiration biopsy

摘要

The enteric nervous system influences gastrointestinal motility, secretion, and the sensation of visceral pain. Much of the neural signaling passes through the celiac plexus, a dense collection of autonomic nerve fibers located on the sides and in front of the aorta at the T12-L1 level. It is the largest of all autonomic plexuses consisting of one to five ganglia which range in size from 0.5 to 4.5 cm. It coordinates the sympathetic, parasympathetic, and visceral sensory afferent fibers to the pancreas, hepatobiliary tree, spleen, mesentery, and large bowel proximal to the mid-transverse colon. Several studies in the radiology literature have reported visualization of the celiac ganglia by endo-scopic ultrasound (EUS). To our knowledge, fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of the celiac ganglia has not, so far, been reported in cytology literature.