Ultrastructural observation on a colloid cyst of the third ventricle

Summary The case involves a colloid cyst of the third ventricle in a 20-year-old man. The lining epithelia of the cyst were composed of two different types of epithelial cells; stratified squamous cells and mucincontaining columnar cells. The presence of both squamous and glandular cells in the cyst wall supports the contention that the colloid cyst in the present case derived from an non-neuroepithelial source. The clinico-pathology of this cystic tumor is compared here with other epithelial cysts of the central nervous system (CNS), especially Rathke's cyst.