Crush preparations of lesions of the central nervous system. A useful adjunct to the frozen section.

A series of 32 cases in which crush preparations were used in addition to frozen sections for the rapid diagnosis of lesions of the central nervous system (CNS) is presented. The cytopathologic features in crush preparations of astrocytomas, glioblastomas multiforme and a pituitary adenoma are described. Excellent preservation of cellular detail was seen in the crush preparations. Frozen sections lacked cytologic detail but provided a better view of the tissue architecture. The crush preparations yielded the correct diagnosis in 29 of the 32 cases. In the other three, a secondary component of the neoplasms (oligodendroglioma and fibrosarcoma) was identified only in the paraffin sections. Use of both frozen sections and crush preparations is recommended for all cases in which an immediate diagnosis of a CNS lesion is required.