A Huge Intrapericardial Teratoma

Teratomas are tumors of embryonic origin composed of tissue or organs derived from the three germinal layers including endoderm, mesoderm and neuroectoderm in varying degrees. Teratoma literallymeans ‘monstrous tumor’ in Greek, a reference to the jumbled mass of different tissues which is common characteristic of these tumors. 

Teratomas have been reported to contain hairs, teeth, bone and cells like those found in various organs and glands. Intrapericardial teratoma is a rare, congenital, pedunculated clinical entity. Two-thirds of these cases occurred in infants, half of whom were less than a month old. The most frequent site of teratomas is the gonads followed by the mediastinum. Most of the cardiac teratomas have been found in the pericardium and the rest in the myocardium. The intrapericardial teratomas are generally benign tumors but may be life threatening because of large pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade. Read more>>>>>>>>>>>