{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T09:58:55Z","timestamp":1773223135746,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"6","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773100800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100015763","name":"University of Szeged, Faculty of Medicine Research Fund\u2014Postdoctoral Grant","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["IV-114-1\/2026.SZAOK"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["IV-114-1\/2026.SZAOK"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100015763","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"name":"J\u00e1nos Bolyai Research Fellowship of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Diagnostics"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Foreign material is an uncommon finding in routine gastrointestinal histopathology, but may occasionally contribute to disease pathogenesis or create diagnostic pitfalls. We report two illustrative cases highlighting the diverse clinical and histologic implications of ingested plant material. The first case involves a 10-year-old boy who presented with clinical features consistent with acute appendicitis and underwent appendectomy. Although gross examination revealed a macroscopically unremarkable appendix, histological evaluation demonstrated mucosal ulceration associated with an impacted plant seed within the appendiceal lumen, supporting a diagnosis of obstructive acute appendicitis. The second case describes a 60-year-old woman undergoing a screening colonoscopy, during which a small sessile lesion in the transverse colon was resected. Histologic examination revealed no colonic mucosa; instead, the specimen consisted entirely of plant material, morphologically consistent with a tomato seed, representing an incidental finding mimicking a colonic polyp. These cases underscore that plant seeds, while rare, may act as obstructive agents in appendicitis or simulate true pathological lesions during endoscopic and histologic evaluation. Awareness of the characteristic microscopic features of plant material is essential to avoid misdiagnosis and to recognise their potential clinical and forensic relevance.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/diagnostics16060826","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T12:39:08Z","timestamp":1773146348000},"page":"826","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Unexpected Findings on Histology: Plant Seeds Inducing and Mimicking Gastrointestinal Diseases"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8734-3633","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Fanni","family":"Heged\u0171s","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, University of Szeged, 6725 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5081-7313","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tam\u00e1s","family":"Lantos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical Physics and Informatics, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-9434-2989","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anita","family":"Sejben","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Pathology, University of Szeged, 6725 Szeged, Hungary"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"322","DOI":"10.1111\/his.13211","article-title":"Seeds in the appendix: A \u2018fruitful\u2019 exploration","volume":"71","author":"Campora","year":"2017","journal-title":"Histopathology"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"308","DOI":"10.1159\/000016880","article-title":"Ingested foreign bodies within the appendix: A 100-year review of the literature","volume":"16","author":"Klingler","year":"1998","journal-title":"Dig. 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