THYROID HETEROTOPIA AS A RARE CAUSE OF INTRAPERICARDIAL TUMORAL MASS - CASE-REPORT AND REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

This article describes the interesting discovery of a large tumoral ma ss formed of heterotopic thyroid tissue inside the pericardial cavity of an elderly man who died of unrelated causes. Heterotopic thyroid ti ssue may be found in many locations throughout the body. Intracardiac and intrapericardial locations, however, are exceptionally rare-this i s only the second report of intrapericardial thyroid heterotopia. Such cases may be explained by the proximity of the developing cardiac str uctures and the foregut, the latter containing thyroid primordia durin g early embryogenesis. (C) 1998 by Elsevier Science Inc.