[Glomus vagale tumor--diagnosis and treatment]

Paraganglioma, being tumors arising from the paraganglion cells of the parasympathetic system, were first reported in man in 1935. Within, the head and neck glomus vagale tumors account for less than 5% of all paragangliomas, with approximately 10% being multicentric. Although histologically these tumors have been shown to contain neurosecretory granules, they are rarely functional. Vagal chemodectomas are histologically benign, but are one of the most difficult tumors of the skull base to manage. Authors present a case of 56 years old woman with glomus vagale tumor treated in ENT Dept. in Poznań.