E22

SPINAL CORD - Epidermoid cyst

Description
The specimen shows a wedge of skin at the top of the jar with, below it, a series of nodules of yellowish tissue connected by pale tissue. The specimen came from the lumbar areas of a patient aged 20 years; she had had a pigmented, hairy area surrounding a small sinus over first sacral vertebra since birth; as a child she suffered from intermittent backache which, prior to surgery, became severe and radiated down to the left leg. The lower end of the specimen was found attached to the filum terminale.