Although all pancreatic neoplasia, including ductal carcinoma (PDC), may clinically appear as a cystic lesion due to degenerative changes in a solid tumour, the most typical cystic neoplasms of the pancreas are cysts lined by different epithelium. The cystic neoplasms are classified into benign, borderline and malignant. Nonneoplastic mimickers of PDC mostly fall into the category of inflammatory and fibrotic conditions correlated in various ways with chronic pancreatitis and autoimmune pancreatitis. PDC must be differentiated from other malignancies such as acinar or endocrine carcinomas. It is essential to identify mucinous-cystic tumours and intraductal-papillary tumours because of their incomparably better prognosis. The 'cystic' variant of ductal adenocarcinoma, due either to degeneration changes or to ectatic changes of the duct system, can mimic the former two neoplasms. The ideal diagnostic test for liver metastasis should be the tissue diagnosis with a trucut biopsy, since the tissue can be also used for ancillary studies. The pathological criteria and the importance of histological subtyping will be presented. The surgically removed lymph nodes are classified and numbered according to their topography, considering that part of them are dissected with a radical pancreaticoduodenectomy and others are dissected by the surgeon and submitted separately. Because the most frequent site of local recurrence of PDCA involves the retroperitoneal posterior bed of the pancreas, the most important tissue to study is the peripancreatic fibrous and adipose tissue that runs behind the head of the pancreas and dorsally and laterally to the superior mesenteric artery.