Teratomatous Cysts of the Spinal Canal

Abstract

Introduction Cysts lined by an epithelium superficially resembling that of respiratory or intestinal mucosa are encountered occasionally within the spinal canal. Such cysts may be associated with mesodermal anomalies, such as hemivertebrae or failure of closure of the neural canal, or with cysts of similar character within the thoracic cavity. The origin and nature of the cysts have received much attention. They have been considered to be teratomas or to result from the displacement of cells from the developing foregut to the region of the notochord. More recently, the determination of "sex chromatin" has shown that the cell nuclei of some cysts removed from male patients contain female sex chromatin bodies, suggesting that such cysts are of teratomatous origin. The purpose of this paper is to review the clinical and pathological features of six cysts of the spinal canal encountered in the Division of Neuropathology of the University of Toronto