Pancreatic diseases past and present: a historical examination of exhibition specimens from the Collectio Rokitansky in Vienna.

The Viennese collection of pathological specimens (Collectio Rokitansky) comprises a large number of objects from all fields of pathological anatomy and is one of the largest historical collections in the entire world. We reviewed the original diagnoses in a series of pancreatic specimens using modern histopathological techniques. It was found that the histological structure of eleven pancreatic specimens was surprisingly well preserved. In three cases of extrapancreatic pseudocysts, we identified chronic pancreatitis as the underlying disease. Two specimens contained tumours that proved to be ductal adenocarcinomas. A third, rather large tumour was identified as a solid-pseudopapillary carcinoma and a fourth one as a neuroendocrine carcinoma. The remaining cases were classified as fibrotic atrophy, congenital cysts, microcystic serous cystadenoma, and necrotic sequestration of the pancreas. The application of immunohistochemical methods failed. In conclusion, the surprisingly well-preserved exhibits from the Collectio Rokitansky, which have been on display for more than 100 years, are accessible to modern histopathological investigation without the use of immunohistochemical techniques. Such examinations allow us to assess the occurrence of diseases and tumours in the sociocultural environment of the 19th century.