Embryologic Association of Tornwaldt's Cyst with Cerebral Artery Abnormalities and Infarction: A Case Report

Background and Purpose . Tornwaldt's cysts are rare nasopharyngeal lesions that develop from remnants of the embryonic notochord. Summary of Case . We reported a twelve-year-old female stroke patient with Tornwaldt's cysts, whose father also suffered a stroke at age fifty two with the presence of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, suggesting a genetic influence in this case. Conclusions . This paper suggests an etiologic connection between Tornwaldt's cysts and cerebral vasculature abnormalities by way of notochordal dysfunction during development, likely the result of perturbation of notochord-derived molecular cues during development or biogenesis.