Table 2 Summary of the morphological characteristics of cysts in the respective groups
From: Diverse arachnoid cyst morphology indicates different pathophysiological origins
Group | Arachnoid cysts | Connective tissue cysts | Aberrant cysts |
|---|---|---|---|
Thickness variation | 20-150 μm | 30-800 μm | 6-400 μm |
Connective tissue layer | Thin | Thick; major part of cyst wall | Thin |
Meningothelial epithelium | Dominant on both sides | Sparsely present | Sometimes present on dural side |
Luminal epithelium | One to several layers | Single layer | Stratified or single layer |
Luminal cilia | Not present | Not present | Often present |
Luminal microvilli | Sparse | Sparse | Abundant |
Junctional complexes | Tight and adherence junctions, desmosomes | Simple | Elaborate; tight, adherence, and gap junctions, desmosomes |
Glial cell processes | Not present | Not present | Often present |
Neuropil | Not present | Not present | Present in one cyst |