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Studies on paediatric head and neck cancer are limited in the medical literature. Most studies have been restricted to specific histological types such as rhabdomyosarcoma, osteogenic sarcoma or Burkitt's lymphoma. This study describes the relative frequency of cancers seen in the head and neck region of children below 16 years of age at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. A total of 281 cases of paediatric head and neck tumours were diagnosed within the study period, out of which 84 cases were malignant. Fifty-four of these cases were males while 30 were females, giving a male to female ratio of 1.8:1. The age range for these cases was 3 days to 15 years with a mean age of 9.03 +/- 4.63 years. The most frequently diagnosed tumours were haematopoietic malignancies, accounting for 47.6% of cases, followed by sarcomas (27.4%) and carcinomas (21.4%). Burkitt's lymphoma constituted 28.6%, followed by rhabdomyosarcoma accounting for 17.9% of cases. Malignant neoplasms of the head and neck region are rare in the paediatric age group. The pattern of these neoplasms also differs from that in the adult population. However, malignant head and neck neoplasms in the paediatric age group also showed the male preponderance characteristic of head and neck malignancies in the adult population.

Enteric fever presents with protean manifestations, at times eluding the treating physician. We report the case of a 19-year-old woman whose clinical presentation suggested enteric fever, however, autopsy revealed occult renal cell carcinoma. We emphasise here, the need to investigate non-infective causes of pyrexia.

Holoprosencephaly is a rare congenital malformation resulting from failure of cleavage of midline structures of the forebrain and face. It affects 0.49-1.2 in 10,000 births around the world. The nature of this condition in African children is not well documented in literature. We present a cluster of three cases of holoprosencephaly with varying degrees of facial and intracranial malformations seen within a 6 month period at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

The benefits of autopsy in medical practice are undisputed. In spite of these benefits, autopsy rates worldwide are on a precipitous decline. This study aims to determine trends in autopsy rate in a Nigerian tertiary institution from 1984-2003.A retrospective study of the autopsies conducted between 1984 and 2003. The post mortem registers of the department of Pathology University College Hospital Ibadan were reviewed for records of autopsy over the two decades. A total of 30,899 deaths and 3385 autopsy requests were registered during the period of study, giving average annual deaths of 1626 and average annual autopsies of 178 respectively. Autopsy rates at the hospital declined from an average of 19% in 1984 to 3.6% in 2003. The decline affected all clinical departments and both sexes. The highest autopsy rate of 19.9% was in 1986, while the lowest rate of 3% was recorded in the year 2000. There has been a remarkable decline in hospital autopsy rate in the University College Hospital Ibadan over the last 2 decades. The decline affected both adult and pediatric patients, both sexes and all principal medical units. There is need for active involvement of all stake holders including clinicians, pathologists and family members of deceased patients in strategic measures aimed at reversing this trend. An investigation into the factors responsible for this decline with the view to improving the autopsy services in the hospital is also required.

Dermoid cysts are extremely rare in the urinary bladder and can pose a diagnostic dilemma to both the Urologist and the Histopathologist. Only a few cases were found documented and cited in PubMed. We present a case of dermoid cyst in the urinary bladder presenting as a bladder stone with a brief review of the literature.

Background: Cavernous lymphangioma is a rare lesion in the breast of adults. Only a few cases have been documented in literature., Case Presentation: We describe a 38-year-old woman who presented with a palpable breast lump, which measured 5 x 4 cm. A local excision of the lump was performed and a diagnosis of cavernous lymphangioma was made. The patient is alive and well, after five years of follow-up, with no complaints or recurrence., Conclusion: To the best of our knowledge, this is the first case to be documented in a black African woman. Complete surgical excision seems to be the best modality of treatment of this lesion.