Nature of Ovarian Dermoid Cyst Fat

THE fat which accumulates in the ovarian dermoid cyst has long attracted interest. Sotnitchowsky 1 , in 1880, suggested that this fat was analogous to sebum, and since that time it has been assumed by many workers that the two substances are identical—an assumption that receives support from the histological evidence of the presence of sebaceous glands in the cyst walls. Many studies of the composition of this fat have been made 2 , but these are incomplete and have been concerned largely with the unsaponifiable matter present. During the course of a study of the composition of human sebum 3 , a supply of the fat from a dermoid cyst became available, and the opportunity was taken to compare the composition of the cyst fat with that of sebum.