FOLLICULAR HYBRID CYSTS - AN EXPANDED SPECTRUM

Currently it is well established that each of the three parts of the hair follicle (infundibulum, isthmus, and the inferior portion) originates different types of cutaneous cysts. Thus, follicular cysts include infundibular, trichilemmal, and matricial cysts. Brownstein in 1983 described a mixed type of cutaneous cyst combining epidermoid, infundibular, and trichilemmal types of keratinization. We review and illustrate the different combinations of follicular hybrid cysts reported to date: infundibular and trichilemmal cyst, infundibular and pilomatricoma cyst, trichilemmal and pilomatricoma cyst, eruptive vellus hair cyst and steatocystoma, and eruptive vellus hair cyst and trichilemmal cyst. Therefore, the concept of hybrid cyst should not be restricted to those composed of infundibular and trichilemmal cysts, because any cyst arising from the various parts of the pilosebaceous unit can combine with others to form a large series of follicular hybrid cysts.