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Pathology

Last reviewed dd mmm yyyy. Last edited dd mmm yyyy

Authoring team

Histological classification of pineal tumours:

  • teratomas with well differentiated tissues - mostly in males, and formed from a variety of cell types such as bone, muscle, cartilage and dermis. They are often well demarcated. Poorly differentiated, malignant types may occur.

  • geminomas - malignant and resembles seminomas of the testes. May spread to the floor or anterior wall of the third ventricle and seed the CSF to the spinal cord or cauda equina.

  • pineocytomas and pinealblastomas - these are rare tumours of true pineal origin. They account for less than 20% of pineal tumours. The pineocytoma is a well differentiated and slow growing tumour; the pinealblastoma, poorly differentiated and rapidly growing.

  • gliomas - both astrocytomas arising from cells within the pineal gland or from adjacent brain, and ependymomas, arising from cells lining the third ventricle, occur.

  • meningiomas, dermoid and epidermoid cysts occur rarely

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