|
|
|
|
Pluripotent germ cells
A teratoma is a type of tumor that derives from pluripotent germ cells. The word comes from a Greek term meaning roughly "monster tumor". Teratomas (more correctly teratomata) usually start from cells in the testes in men, the ovaries in women and in the sacrum in children. Teratomata involve cells from all three embryonic cell layers: ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. They can be benign or malignant.
Teratomata often contain well-differentiated cells which can result in tissues growing in a teratoma which are quite different to the surrounding tissue—ovarian teratomas have been known to grow hair and teeth. Such a benign cystic teratoma is often termed a dermoid cyst, nowadays more correctly termed a mature teratoma. Some teratomata may contain a mixture of well-differentiated, mature tissues as: respiratory epithelium, hair follicle, fat tissue or mature nervous tissue. Immature teratomata of the ovary have a malignant potential in line with the amount of neuroblastic tissue present.
|
|
|
