Volume 124, Issue 6 pp. 436-443
Review Article

The significance of Sarcina in routine surgical pathology practice

Balan Louis Gaspar

Corresponding Author

Balan Louis Gaspar

Department of Histopathology, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India

Balan Louis Gaspar, Department of Histopathology, 5th Floor, Research Block-A, Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh 160012, India. e-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this author
First published: 26 February 2016
Citations: 23

Abstract

Sarcina was first described by Goodsir. The appearance of this bacterium is so characteristic that the diagnosis can be made on light microscopy. Although the original description of Sarcina was made more than 150 years ago, little is known about its role in various human diseases. This study was undertaken with the aim to analyze critically the reason for this sudden recent interest in human Sarcina infection. The results indicate that Sarcina is a histopathological marker of functional or anatomical causes of gastric stasis, and has a possible association with life-threatening emphysematous gastritis. Hence, its documentation in the final report is warranted as the patient might need further work-up.

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