Mature Ovarian Teratoma (incidental)
Channel: James Smirniotopoulos
Date: 12/09/2013

The benign cystic teratoma is the most common tumor of the ovary. Often an incidental finding in adolescents or young women, more than 90% are benign. The majority arise from a post-meiotic haploid germ cell - and they are true neoplasms.  Universally, they produce ectodermal skin elements (hair, sebaceous, etc.) - partially justifying the nickname "dermoid cyst".  The lipid material - echogenic on US, bright on T1W MRI, and lucent on CT and radiographs - is actually cheesy sebaceous secretion, not adipose tissue "fat".  They are rarely complicated by ovarian torsion, infection, and even less frequently by secondary formation of a squamous cell cancer.