intrathoracic glial implants
Monday 13 February 2012
Glial peritoneal implants, commonly referred to as gliomatosis peritonei, are an occasional feature of ovarian teratomas.
They are benign nodules of mature glial tissue and usually do not adversely affect outcome.
Pleural gliomatosis has been rarely described in the literature. (19735831)
The pathophysiology of gliomatosis peritonei was originally thought to be the direct extrusion or lymphatic spread of glial cells from the associated teratoma, although it has been postulated that the glial implants may instead be the result of pluripotent Mullerian stem cells that undergo metaplasia.
This localization provides evidence to bolster the metaplastic theory.
Intrathoracic glial implants in a child with gliomatosis peritonei. Lipskar AM, Rothstein DH, Soffer SZ, Edelman M, Glick RD. J Pediatr Surg. 2009 Sep;44(9):1817-20. PMID: 19735831