Diagnosis of radiolucent lesions of the jaw by fine needle aspiration biopsy.

Radiolucent lesions of the jaw, representing a variety of metabolic, inflammatory, developmental, neoplastic and other disorders, may be quite variable in appearance. Fine needle aspiration biopsy, performed on 57 patients who presented with oral abnormalities, was used in an attempt to differentiate the pathologic processes in the 23 patients with radiolucent changes resulting from bony involvement. Most aspirations were performed on an outpatient basis, and the cytologic findings were correlated with the clinical course and subsequent surgical findings. The entities encountered included ameloblastoma, a variety of odontogenic cysts and inflammatory and infectious processes, such as actinomycosis and giant-cell and eosinophilic granulomas. An unusual salivary gland lesion was also observed. The aspiration biopsy proved to be a valuable adjunct method for the preoperative diagnosis of radiolucent lesions of the jaws. A discussion of the differential diagnostic considerations is presented.