Cystic ultimobranchial body remnants

Thyroid gland
Congenital anomalies
Cystic ultimobranchial body remnants

Author: Shahidul Islam, M.D., Ph.D. (see Authors page)

Revised: 16 February 2017, last major update March 2009

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PubMed search: cystic ultimobranchial body remnants

Table of Contents

Cite this page: Cystic ultimobranchial body remnants. PathologyOutlines.com website. http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/topic/thyroidcysticultimobranchial.html. Accessed April 19th, 2018.

Definition / general

Branchial pouch cysts located near thyroid may actually be cystic ultimobranchial body remnants
See also solid cell nests (solid ultimobranchial body remnants), lymphoepithelial cyst

Epidemiology

Very common in neonates

Sites

Usually soft tissue of neck near thyroid, occasionally within thyroid

Clinical features

Study of 11 cases of solid nest cells argues that SCN are derived from ultimobranchial body (Am J Clin Pathol 1994;101:186)
Ultimobranchial body cells have nuclei resembling papillary carcinoma (enlarged, oval, contain finely dispersed chromatin, Arch Pathol Lab Med 1990;114:1049)

Microscopic (histologic) description

Cysts lined by flattened multilayered epithelium of squamous cells, occasionally ciliated columnar epithelium
May contain dense eosinophilic material in lumen
May be adjacent to solid cell nests; variable lymphocytes and rare pancreatic tissue

Microscopic (histologic) images

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Cystic solid cell nests