What are cysts?

A cyst is a benign, or non-cancerous, closed collection of tissue that is filled with fluid, pus, or other material such as blood, joint fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, etc. Cysts may be found anywhere in the body, and may be a congenital or acquired condition.

Depending on where in the body a cyst is found, and the mechanism of its formation, a cyst will be called different names:

• Bone cyst
• cysts from infections
• dermoid cyst
• ganglion cyst
• sebaceous cyst
• epidermal cyst
• lung cyst
• kidney cyst
• arachnoid cyst in the brain, etc.

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Reviewed by: Jack Wolfsdorf, MD, FAAP

This page was last updated on: 1/29/2019 3:21:13 PM