Intraspinal neurenteric cyst--a rare entity

Neurenteric cysts are uncommonly reported congenital abnormalities that are thought to be an abnormal connection between the endoderm and ectoderm during the 3rd week of life. We report a case of a 17 years old male who presented with one year history of pain in the right arm for which he had been taking pain killer medication from the local general practitioner. The pain progressed over several months and developed into numbness and weakness of the right arm. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a cystic mass at the C7 to D2 location. The mass was removed surgically and the specimen sent to Armed Forces Institute of Pathology for histopathological examination. On the basis of morphological features, an endodermal mass was diagnosed as Intraspinal Neurenteric cyst.