An intrapulmonary teratoma associated with bronchiectasia containing various kinds of primordium: a case report and review of the literature

An intrapulmonary teratoma (IPT), multiloculated and bronchiectatic, with two polyps inside a 23-year-old man is reported. The IPT, a very rare benign cystic lesion, was communicating with segmental bronchus and was removed by a segmental resection from the upper lobe of the left lung. The teratoma contained various kinds of primordial derivatives, such as mesoderm, ectoderm, and endoderm. Though 65 cases of IPT have been reported in the literature (1839-1996), in the present case there were over 15 germ derivatives, the largest number reported to date. The tumor contained thymic tissue, apart from mediastinum, which may be significant in relation to the pathogenesis of IPT. Clinical manifestations, age, and gender distributions and the kind of germ cell derivatives are discussed.