Adult intrasellar teratoid tumor

Intracranial teratomas rarely occur in adults. The most common sites are the pineal followed by the suprasellar or hypothalamic areas. Infrequently, teratomas can arise within the sella turcica and mimic a pituitary adenoma or craniopharyngioma. Teratoid tumors contain tissue arising from only two of the three primitive germ layers, whereas teratomas have elements of all three. The following case illustrates the unusual occurrence of an intrasellar teratoid tumor in a 33-year-old man.