Cyst

Cyst
Classification and external resources
Micrograph of a mediastinal bronchogenic cyst. H&E stain.
MedlinePlus	003240
MeSH	D003560

A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct membrane and division on the nearby tissue. It may contain air, fluids, or semi-solid material. A collection of pus is called an abscess, not a cyst. Once formed, a cyst could go away on its own or may have to be removed through surgery.

Locations

• Acne cyst - Pseudocysts associated with cystic acne. Actually an inflammatory nodule with or without an associated epidermoid inclusion cyst.
• Arachnoid cyst (between the surface of the brain and the cranial base or on the arachnoid membrane)
• Baker's cyst or popliteal cyst (behind the knee joint)
• Bartholin's cyst
• Breast cyst
• Chalazion cyst (eyelid)
• Colloid cyst
• Crain's backs
• Cysticercal cyst (the larval stage of Taenia sp.)
• Dentigerous cyst (associated with the crowns of non-erupted teeth)
• Dermoid cyst (ovaries, testes, many other locations from head to tailbone)
• Epididymal cyst (found in the vessels attached to the testes)
• Ganglion cyst (hand/foot joints and tendons)
• Glial cyst (in the brain)
• Gartner's duct cyst (vaginal or vulvar cyst of embryological origin)
• Hydatid cyst (larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus (tapeworm))
• Keratocyst (in the jaws, these can appear solitary or associated with the Gorlin-Goltz or Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome. The latest World Health Organization classification considers Keratocysts as tumors rather than cysts)
• Liver cystic disease
• Meibomian cyst (eyelid)
• Mucoid cyst (ganglion cysts of the digits)
• Nabothian cyst (cervix)
• Ovarian cyst (ovaries, functional and pathological)
• Paratubal cyst (fallopian tube)
• Periapical cyst (The periapical cyst, otherwise known as radicular cyst, is the most common odontogenic cyst.)
• Peritoneal cyst (lining of the abdominal cavity)
• Pilar cyst (cyst of the scalp)
• Pilonidal cyst (skin infection near tailbone)
• Renal cyst (kidneys)
• Polycystic ovary syndrome
• Pineal gland cyst
• Radicular cyst (associated with the roots of non-vital teeth, also known as Periapical cyst)
• Testical cyst
• Sebaceous cyst (sac below skin)
• Tarlov cyst (spine)
• Trichilemmal cyst - Same as a pilar cyst. A familial cyst of the scalp.
• Vocal fold cyst

Benign vs malignant

Most cysts in the body are benign (functional), the result of plugged ducts or other natural body outlets for secretions. However, a few are tumors or are produced within tumors, and are potentially malignant:

• Dermoid cyst
• Keratocyst

Related structures

A pseudocyst is collection without a distinct membrane.

A syrinx in the spinal cord or brainstem is sometimes inaccurately referred to as a cyst.

References

External links

• "Cyst Symptoms and Causes" by Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD and William C. Shiel, Jr., MD, FACP, FACR.

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