title: Benign Malformative Lesion of the Skull: Hamartoma with Ectopic Elements or Choristoma?
abstract: Hamartoma and choristoma are terms that describe non-neoplastic, mass-forming malformative lesions. Although each lesion has a different composition, they have been used interchangeably in many reports, especially for malformative lesions containing ectopic or heterologous elements. We report a three month-old girl who was brought to the clinic with a mass lesion at the posterior fontanel, composed of predominantly osteo-cartilaginous tissue admixed with skeletal muscle, peripheral nerve tissue, and ganglion. The mass was resected completely. The composition of this benign lesion with ectopic elements was consistent with an osteo-cartilaginous hamartoma. We discuss the biological and clinical aspects such malformative lesions within the skull to highlight the inconsistencies of the nomenclature used in the literature.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, UCSF, SAN FRANCISCO, USA.
authors.forename: Ece
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Meram
authors.forename: Hakan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Karabağli
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Glastonbury
authors.forename: Tarik
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Tihan
authors.forename: Pınar
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karabağli
mesh_terms: D002828:Choristoma / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000151:congenital* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D012886:Skull / Q000002:abnormalities*