Benign cystic pineal lesions by magnetic resonance imaging

In the course of examining 1,000 patients with various neurological complaints, 17 were found to have abnormalities in the region of the pineal gland. Fourteen had no hydrocephalus or symptoms referable to the region of the midbrain but a well-defined region of high signal on T2 weighted images was demonstrated on magnetic resonance imaging. The other three patients proved to have pineal tumors. All patients had computed tomography examinations prior to magnetic resonance imaging. We believe that the pineal lesion in the 14 asymptomatic patients is a benign cyst not previously reported prior to the advent of magnetic resonance imaging. These benign lesions should be kept in mind in evaluating masses of the pineal region.