SYNOVIAL SARCOMA OF THE FOOT

Synovial sarcoma is a malignant mesenchymal tumor composed of spindle-cell and special synovial tissue. The origin of these cells is not clear. Haagensen and Stout hold it “questionable whether or not they are derived from the normal lining cells of joints, ten-don sheaths, and bursae, because the tumors are usually outside of these structures, al-though often in close proximity to them”. King described four main histological forms of the synnovial-tissue component characterized by (1) mucin formation, (2) synovial spaces, (3) endothelial and “gland ” spaces, and (4) epithelium-like tissue. He favored the theory that, with appropriate stimulus, the connective tissue anywhere is capable of this kind of differentiation. The tumor is uncommon. Pack amid Ariel in an eighteen-year period gathered the histories of 717 patients with malignant neoplasms of the somatic tissues; out of these they found only sixty cases of synovial sarcoma, comprising 8.4 per cent. of all malignant neoplasms of the soft somatic tissues in their series. However, the true incidence is not known, for not all cases are recognized; or, if they are recognized, not all are reported. It was suggested by Bowman that “all cases should be reported in order that sufficient clini