title: Imaging of tailgut cysts.
abstract: Tailgut cysts are congenital lesions that arise from the primitive hindgut in the true embryonic tail but fail to regress during gestation. These lesions are rare and more frequently encountered later in life and more commonly in women, and are the most common primary retrorectal tumor. Tailgut cysts may be asymptomatic or cause rectal bleeding, pain, or symptoms related to mass effect on the rectum or bladder. Pathologically, tailgut cysts are typically multilocular, lined with a variety of epithelial cell types, and are most frequently benign. Imaging is the linchpin of diagnosis due risks associated with biopsy. The purpose of this pictorial review is to present the spectrum of imaging findings associated with tailgut cysts on CT and MRI with focus on the use of advanced MRI and diffusion-weighted imaging. We present case examples of tailgut cysts, their CT and MR imaging findings, and diagnostic and management considerations.
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 South Kingshighway Boulevard, Campus Box 8131, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA. shettya@mir.wustl.edu.
authors.forename: Anup S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Shetty
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 South Kingshighway Boulevard, Campus Box 8131, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Loch
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 South Kingshighway Boulevard, Campus Box 8131, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Mellnick
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 South Kingshighway Boulevard, Campus Box 8131, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.affiliation: Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 510 South Kingshighway Boulevard, Campus Box 8131, Saint Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
authors.forename: Vamsi
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Narra
mesh_terms: D003560:Cysts / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006222:Hamartoma / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012002:Rectal Diseases / Q000151:congenital / Q000175:diagnosis*; D012007:Rectum / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: Computed tomography; Diffusion-weighted imaging; Magnetic resonance imaging; Retrorectal cystic hamartoma; Tailgut cyst