title: December 1998--16 year old female with headaches, lethargy and a sellar/suprasellar mass.
abstract: A 16 year female with a history of developmental delay and shunted hydrocephalus presented with two months of progressive headaches, lethargy and visual disturbances. An MRI of the brain revealed a sellar and suprasellar cystic mass which was absent on a previous MRI six years earlier. The pre-operative clinical diagnosis was pituitary adenoma vs. craniopharyngioma. Histologically, the fibrous wall of the ciliated epithelial-lined cyst was thickened by non-caseating granulomatous inflammation, hemorrhage, hemosiderin, and cholesterol clefts, consistent with cyst rupture. Rathke's cleft cysts are uncommon symptomatic lesions in young people, and must be distinguished from craniopharyngioma.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina 27710, USA.
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: C T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Hulette
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D003397:Craniopharyngioma / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006261:Headache / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D006849:Hydrocephalus / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D010911:Pituitary Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery