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Updated: Sep 27, 2026

Optical Sectioning and Visualization of the Intervertebral Disc from Embryonic Development to Degeneration
Published on: July 8, 2021
Giant vertebral notochordal rest: a lesion distinct from chordoma: discussion of an evolving concept
Michael Kyriakos1, William G Totty, Lawrence G Lenke
1Department of Surgical Pathology, Washington University School of Medicine, Campus Box 8118, 660 S. Euclid Avenue, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA.
Abstract:
A 14-year-old boy with severe back pain for several years is described. Roentgenograms, bone scans, and computed tomographic scans of the spine were normal, but magnetic resonance imaging studies showed a lumbar vertebral body lesion, confined to the bone, with low T1- and high T2-weighted signal intensities. Histologically, the lesion consisted of sheet-like notochordal-type tissue, containing physaliphorous cells but lacking the usual features of chordoma. A diagnosis of giant notochordal rest was made. A review of prior possible examples of this recently described and controversial entity is made with a discussion of its embryologic foundations and distinction from chordoma.
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