Thyroglossal duct cyst, a comparatively uncommon disease, arises from epitherial rests in the remnants of the thyroglossal duct produced by the descendant of the thyroid anlage. There have been 11 cases of thyroglossal duct cysts treated at the Kyushu University Dental Hospital from 1976 to 1984 and the authors did clinical and histopathological studies of them.
Results were as follows:
1. Clinically, in 11 cases-7 males and 4 females-the thyroglossal duct cyst appeared between the age of birth and the age of 68 years, but many cases showed the onset within ten years old, and in 9 cases, the cyst appeared at or below the level of the hyoid bone. The cysts vary in contents and measure from 8 mm to 50 mm in diameter.
2. Histopathologically, the entire specimens were lined with the prural epitherium. The epitherium lining of the cysts were stratified aquamous epitherium in 11 cases, ciliated columner in 7, and cuboidal or columner epitherium in 8. There are many adexa, such as thyroid tissue (4 cases), mucus glands (5 cases), and goblet cell (5 cases), but the frequency of their appearance are in the location of the cysts.
