Central nervous system cyst

A central nervous system cyst is a type of cyst that presents and affects part of the central nervous system (CNS). They are usually benign and filled with either cerebrospinal fluid, blood, or tumor cells. CNS cysts are classified into two categories: cysts that originate from non-central nervous system tissue, migrate to, and form on a portion of the CNS, and cysts that originate within central nervous system tissue itself. Within these two categories, there are many types of CNS cysts that have been identified from previous studies. These classification of cysts are embedded in the endoderm (inner layer) and the ectoderm (outer layer) of the cranial or spinal cord germ layers. They normally take over the neuraxis, the axis of the central nervous system that determines how the nervous system is placed, which allows the cysts to infiltrate the CNS tissues. They are most commonly found in the area near the pineal gland, the chiasmatic cistern, and the cerebellopontine angle space. These common places generally house extensive and continuously growing cysts. Some examples of cysts originating from non-central nervous system tissue include: Teratomas cysts (containing multiple body tissue types) Dermoid (epidermoid/epidermoid tumor) Rathke's cleft cysts Pineal cysts Tumor-associated cysts Epithelial cysts that originate from upper respiratory and intestinal tracks. This category of cysts takes over areas of necrotic tissue in the brain from injuries, diseases, or abnormalities, which occur due to the central nervous system's nonregenerative nature. These cysts can affect all germ layers of the CNS, but are most common in the arachnoid mater, and the ventricular space, which may block CSF pathways. These cysts can be static (stationary) or progressive. Some examples of cysts originating from the CNS tissue include: Arachnoid cysts (Leptomeningeal cysts) Ependymal cysts Cystic cerebellar astrocytomas Colloid cysts Symptoms are assessed on a case-by-case basis.