Morphological features and organ distribution of schistosomal infection

Abstract

A total of 74 histologically diagnosed eases of schistosomiasis involving various organs and tissues were reported in the Department of Pathology of the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital, Dorin between January 1979 and December 1997. While some of the cases were incidental discoveries, others were the primary causes of patients' clinical problems such as infertility. The ages of patients in this study were relatively higher than the usual childhood or adolescence wherein schistosomiasis is commonest and this is thought to be due to the longer duration required for morphological changes to be established in tissues. A case of urinary bladder schistosomiasis with squamous cell carcinoma was found in a 55-ycar old man and this lends support to the claim that schistosomiasis of the urinary bladder may predispose to cancer in the organ. Findings in this study underscore the need for high index of suspicion in cndemic areas wherein histological examination of appropriate tissue may be all that is needed in what otherwise appears to be a diagnostic enigma.