Connatal Cyst

  • Etiology: Congenital normal variant
  • Imaging:
    — Round cyst less than 1 centimeter in diameter located at superolateral angle of frontal horns of lateral ventricles
    — Can be bilateral
    — Can be multiple and look like a string of pearls
  • DDX: On coronal images key landmark is superolateral angle of frontal horns of lateral ventricles: connatal cysts are located at angle, subependymal cysts are located below angle and periventricular leukomalacia is located above angle
  • Complications: None
  • Treatment: None
  • Clinical: In 1% of pregnancies

Radiology Cases of Connatal Cyst

Head US of connatal cysts
Coronal (above) and sagittal (below) US of the brain show bilaterally multiple small cysts just lateral to the superolateral angles of the anterior horns of the lateral ventricles.
Head US of connatal cysts
Coronal US of the brain (above) shows bilateral cysts at the superolateral angles of the frontal horns of the lateral ventricles while on left sagittal (below left) and right sagittal (below right) images the cysts look like a string of pearls.