The importance of case reports and mini reviews

I wanted to take a moment to highlight the contribution of case reports to the pathology field.These "n of one" reports frequently focus on unusual presentation of common disease or rare entities, as in this issue's case of plexiform fibromyxoma presenting in the distal small bowel.Case reports serve as reminder for practicing pathologists to be mindful of such entities but also often provide a port of entry to academic publication for trainees or novice practitioners.Their inclusion, along with more traditional papers, provide an important sharing of experience and expertise with our Canadian colleagues.Along the same vein, I want to encourage the submission of "mini reviews" that provide a succinct and practical discourse on a topic of interest to our pathology community.These offer an opportunity to introduce new and cutting-edge topics, unlike the more deeply researched full papers, on pathology, molecular diagnostics, resident training, and continued education.They can also highlight issues that are unique to the Canadian pathology community.Mini reviews are ideal for trainees, to craft and to digest, as part of their education and offer more seasoned pathologists easy to process information from specialties outside of our daily practice.