The next in our "Best of the Month" series is from Thursday, August 21, 2014:
A 35-year-old woman died after a witness saw her "foaming at the mouth". A seizure was presumed to have occurred by emergency personnel. At autopsy, there was mild dilatation of the lateral and third ventricles:
This translucent mass was identified in the third ventricle:
Histological examination of the cyst contents revealed:
This translucent mass was identified in the third ventricle:
Histological examination of the cyst contents revealed:
Although no ciliated epithelium was identified within the specimen, there were columnar cells with a pseudostratified configuration:
However, the majority of the cyst lining was flattened, simple epithelium:
However, the majority of the cyst lining was flattened, simple epithelium:
Diagnosis is colloid cyst of the third ventricle. Normally one would see ciliated columnar cells lining the cyst, but they appear to be attenuated and flattened by the internal pressure of the cyst itself.
