Anita S. Fating1, Kiran G. Palikundwar2, Amrut A. Mahajan3
ABSTRACT: CONTEXT (BACKGROUND): Increasing problems of calcium deficiency with advanced age, it becomes the need of time to focus attention towards parathyroid glands as one of the essential entity. Hence the present study has been undertaken to have an idea about normal variation in the gland as per age. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Parathyroid glands from 25 autopsied cases of 20 to 59 years were studied after staining with Hematoxylin and Eosin, Massonâ??s Trichrome and Gomoriâ??s Reticulin stains. RESULTS: Stroma composed of short often branching reticular fibers along with blood vessels and fat cells. By statistical examination, it was revealed that as age advances amount of stromal fat increased, reaching a peak in age groups between 40-49 years and then slightly decreased irrespective of sex. Oxyphil cells being less numerous than chief cells were distinguished by their dark eosinophilic, granular cytoplasm and arranged mostly in closely packed groups. Oxyphil cells also found as placed singly among chief cells and as continuous masses or anastomosing columns. The number of oxyphil cells increased as age advances irrespective of sex. CONCLUSIONS: The amount of stromal fat increased as age advances and it reached to a peak in the middle of the 5th decade thereafter it slightly decreased and also the number of oxyphil cells increased as age advances irrespective of sex.
