ABSTRACT
Three types of central nervous system cysts share a similar lining composed of a simple-to-pseudostratified epithelium with variable numbers of ciliated cells and mucin-producing goblet cells: colloid cyst, Rathke cyst, and enterogenous (neurenteric) cyst (Table 47.1). All three constitute welldefined clinicopathological entities that share many close similarities of morphological features, immunophenotype and ultrastructural features with endoderm-derived epithelium and respiratory-type epithelium (Mackenzie and Gilbert, 1991; Lach and Scheithauer, 1992; Lach et al., 1993). These observations support the hypothesis that they originate from the primitive foregut and respiratory tract endoderm (Ho and Garcia, 1992), rather than from neuroectoderm.
