thornwaldts

[riocky]

what is thornwaldts cyst.

[Quixotic1]

Hi, there.  First off it is not cancer.  A Thornwaldt's Cyst is a piece of leftover tissue from the very earliest stages of the fetal development (first several weeks after conception).  Somehow, instead of developing into the proper tissue type, it hangs around forever and is there with you as you live your life.  It apparently is located in the area at the back of the nasal passages to the area at the upper end of the back of the throat.  (It may also be other related places, but this is what I found when I looked it up.)  It often causes no problems and is found accidentally when looking for other things.

A more common, similar thing is the dermoid cyst, which can occur in different places.  It is a lingering piece of fetal tissue that was destined to become "dermis"  that is, skin, hair, teeth, etc.  Those cysts are aften found and, on x-ray or when examined directly, they actually have hair and weird, little teeth in them.  Sounds bizarre, but is one of the little quirks we encounter in medicine.

Do they think your cyst is causing a problem or did they just find it looking for something else?  Do you have symptoms in your nose, throat or neck?

Quix