Primary Lymphangioma of Bone

Abstract

SUMMARY A 55-year-old man with a history of backache was found on roentgen examination to have osteolytic changes in the lumbar spine, sacrum, and right ilium, with enlargement of the nutrient canal of the ilium. The changes partly appeared in the form of complete erosion of certain parts and partly as coarseness of structure in general. At operation no changes were seen in the tissues adjacent to the destroyed bone. Biopsy specimens from some of the diseased parts showed histologically many thin-walled vascular spaces apparently restricted to the bone marrow and periosteal tissue. The changes were compatible with a cavernous lymphangioma which was assumed to bear an intimate relationship to lymphatics accompanying the blood vessels of the bone.