Talk:Dermoid cyst

Vagina dentata

I have added a link to vagina dentata because of this paragraph:

“In rare instances, teeth may be found in a vagina. Dermoid cysts are formed from the outer layers of embyonic skin cells. These cells are able to mature into teeth bones or hair, and these cysts are able to form anywhere the skin is or where the skin folds inwards to become another organ, such as in the ear or the vagina.” - User:rfl

And I have removed it, because not every link needs a back-link, and the fact that a dermoid cyst may occasionally occur in the vagina should not be overemphasized on the basis of a hypothesis by a Wikipedian (without any actual reference) that this fact may have something to do with the mythic vagina dentata. -- Nunh-huh 08:47, 4 Sep 2004 (UTC)

Teratoma

The teratoma page now has a clearer, more general explanation of what a dermoid cyst is: namely, a teratoma with a specific histology, of little significance. I have deleted most information about teratomas from this page, in favor of the teratoma page. Una Smith 18:19, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

Maybe this page should just be merged with teratoma and then get a redirect to there, being that this is little more than a stub at this point. I don't know much of anything about these subjects; I just check out this page occasionally to remember what exactly it's called.≈Krasniy^t/_c 21:21, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I had the same thought but hesitate because this page has a sidebar on it. Anyone else care to offer an opinion? Una Smith 21:27, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

You could put up a merge template thing on both pages, so it'll draw people's attention. (I don't know how to do that myself.)≈Krasniy^t/_c 21:50, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Text from ovarian cyst

A dermoid cyst, also called a dermoid or mature cystic teratoma, is an abnormal cyst that usually affects women during their childbearing years (15-40; the average age is 30), is usually benign, and can range in size from half an inch to 17 inches in diameter. Dermoid cysts are usually present at birth and continue to grow in size as one ages. The cyst is similar to those present on skin tissue, and can contain fat and occasionally hair, bone, nails, teeth, eyes, cartilage, and thyroid tissue. Up to 10-15% of women with them have them in both ovaries. These cysts develop from a totipotential cell - a cell present at birth that can mature into an array of different body cells. During a woman's reproductive years, these cells become over stimulated, causing the cyst to grow. A CT scan and MRI can show the presence of fat and dense calcifications. Though it often does not cause any symptoms, it can on the other hand become inflamed, and can also twist around (a condition known as ovarian torsion), causing severe abdominal pain and imperiling its blood supply, which is an emergency and calls for urgent surgery. These cysts can generally be removed easily, which is usually the treatment of choice, with either conventional surgery (laparotomy; open surgery) or laparoscopy. Removal does not generally affect fertility. The larger it is, the greater the risk of rupture with spillage of the contents, which can create problems with adhesions and pain. However, it is rare that these cysts become a medical emergency. Although the large majority (about 98%) are benign, the remaining fraction (about 2%) becomes cancerous (malignant) -- those are usually in women over 40. [1][2][3][4]

The above text needs to be rewritten. It contains several gross mis-statements. --Una Smith 20:55, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

See also

A dermoid sinus has nothing to do with a dermoid cyst; a dermoid sinus is a pilonidal cyst. I propose a disambiguation page for dermoid. Una Smith 21:30, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

A dermoid cyst is another term used in veterinary medicine for a dermoid sinus, although not very commonly. I refer you to the Merck Veterinary Manual (near the bottom, under pilonidal sinus). But I think you're right, and a dab page would be the best way to go. --Joelmills 22:04, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

I think much of the confusion is due to the difficulty of telling apart small teratomas on the head (skull sutures, and midline: sinus, nose, palate, tongue, under the tongue, etc.) from pilonidal cysts. Especially when both can be full of hair. Pilonidal cysts are pilonidal sinuses that are obstructed. Teratomas near the body surface may develop a sinus. Eg, the recent media story of a pro sport athlete whose teratoma was discovered when he blew a tooth out of his nose. I think dermoid cyst needs a page that tries to clarify all this. But would it be a disambiguation page? Una Smith 23:17, 6 February 2007 (UTC)

Don't taunt us with unreferenced facts

eg, the recent media story of a pro sport athlete whose teratoma was discovered when he blew a tooth out of his nose. I've googled around and can't find any reference of this. Can we have a little more to go on? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 69.228.240.57 (talk) 07:43, 11 April 2007 (UTC).

Found it. Edited. Una Smith 01:11, 29 May 2007 (UTC)

Limbal dermoid is not a teratoma

It is a choristoma, i.e. a mass containing tissue types not normally found in that area. Could someone clever please fix this up? Hovea 06:19, 27 September 2007 (UTC)

To fix it up properly, someone needs to rewrite Hamartoma, a subject about which I know too little to do it myself. I will add some redirects, though. --Una Smith 03:01, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Uh, we have a problem. this eMedicine article says limbal dermoid is a choristoma, but from the description it is clear choristoma is another name for teratoma. --Una Smith 03:05, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

The terms teratoma, hamartoma, and choristoma are often misunderstood. Teratomas are tumours composed of tissues derived from the three embryonal layers. Hamartomas are tumour-like masses composed of a focal overgrowth of mature normal cells in their normal location. Choristomas are composed of normal cells in an abnormal location. Limbal dermoid is unmistakably and incontrovertibly not a teratoma.

Batsakis JG. Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. Pathology consultation. Nomenclature of developmental tumors. 1984 Jan-Feb;93(1 Pt 1):98-9. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=6703601&dopt=Citation

Perhaps that explanation could be incorporated into the relevant articles? Hovea 12:51, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Mature teratoma, which is the most common form, is composed of normal tissues. So how do you unmistakably and incontrovertably distinguish between teratoma and choristoma? --Una Smith 15:55, 28 September 2007 (UTC)

Choristoma is an architecturally normal arrangement of mature tissues found in a location normally foreign to such tissues. The diagnosis of teratoma depends on finding tissues derived from all 3 germ cell layers. The terms, though clear to pathologists, may be confusing to the layman.
If you are referring to mature teratoma of the ovary, there's usually a haphazard melange of hair, teeth, skin, and often glial tissue. These tumours arise from a single germ cell after its first meiotic division. That's a teratoma. Hovea 12:30, 29 September 2007 (UTC)

Teratomas are a very complex entity, and some authorities recognize "monodermal" teratomas. But I think the larger problem is that some of the more accessible articles on choristoma conflate choristoma with teratoma. Would you agree with that? As wikipedia is an encyclopedia, some explanation of this problem would seem appropriate. --Una Smith 03:31, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for your ideas. I await other users' comments before embarking on this mammoth mission. Hovea 11:33, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Image

Changed the template image to show a specimen with teeth, a common denominator. First image remains within the articles teratoma and ovarian cancer. --Bobjgalindo (talk) 04:04, 23 August 2011 (UTC)

Dermoid cyst is not just another word for mature teratomas.

It gets confusing because some people use the terms loosely and interchangeably but there actually is a distinction.

A dermoid cyst is a subtype of mature teratoma consisting of predominantly (or even only?) ectodermal tissues (dermal and epidermal). In contrast, mature teratomas as a whole can contain a mixture of ectodermal, mesodermal, and endodermal tissues (this is more common with ovarian teratomas, in contrast to dermoid cysts occuring in the skin).

I have not changed the article because I would like to hear your opinions on whether it's solely or just predominantly ectodermal tissues (I am not sure); and because, once again, this brings up the topic of merging with the teratoma page as a subsection.

I am not a good editor and would be very happy if someone else took over actually editing the article. I'm definitely going to forget I even posted this by tomorrow. Thank you for reading.

References: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12733128/, https://radiopaedia.org/articles/mature-cystic-ovarian-teratoma-1 (please note second link is technically a "pedia" site but the authors/editors are radiologists and the article is publicly signed with the their names). If you can confirm with additional resources about the solely vs. predominantly ectodermal issues that would be best. Luxatron (talk) 02:24, 30 October 2021 (UTC)

(Just in case it's not clear, I bring this up because there is no reference to this in the article and right now it reads as just an unnecessary duplicate page on mature teratomas). Luxatron (talk) 02:26, 30 October 2021 (UTC)