Tehran University Medical Journal

Background: Teratomas are tumors consisting of tissues derived from more than one germ cell line. Teratomas arise, most commonly in anterior mediastinum. Intrapulmonary Teratoma are among the rarest tumors encountered in pathology, in other words they are exceedingly uncommon, with only less than 100 cases documented by 1939.

Case presentation: We describe a 19-year-old woman with a short history of retrosternal chest pain and non-productive cough due to a benign intrapulmonary mature teratoma originating from the right upper and middle lobes. The clinical, imagings and pathological features of this rare tumor are presented and the relevant literatures are discussed.

Conclusions: Intrapulmonary teratomas are rare tumors. They originate from the third pharyngeal pouch and present as cystic lesions in the majority of cases. Histologically, benign teratomas comprise of two or three primordial layers. Patients present with chest pain, dyspnea, cough, hemoptysis and trichoptysis. Any Intrapulmonary teratoma should be resected due to its potential for malignancy and rupture.