Bilateral thoracic extraadrenal myelolipoma

Myelolipoma commonly occurs in the adrenal gland and is composed of both adipose tissue and normal hematopoietic elements. Extraadrenal myelolipoma may occur in the retroperitoneum, stomach, liver, lung, and in 3% of cases even in the mediastinum. We present a 65-year-old female patient with unspecific clinical symptoms. Routine chest roentgenograms revealed bilateral widening of the posterior mediastinum. Computed tomography showed bilateral, paravertebral lesions of 4.5 and 6.5 em in diameter, respectively. After surgical removal, bilateral thoracic myelolipoma was pathomorphologically diagnosed. The imaging differential diagnosis of bilateral solid lesions in the posterior mediastinum including lymph node metastases, lymphomas, neurogenic tumors and extramedullary hematopoietic tumors is discussed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.