Thyroid Heterotopia as a Rare Cause of Intrapericardial Tumoral Mass: Case Report and Review of the Literature

This article describes the interesting discovery of a large tumoral mass formed of heterotopic thyroid tissue inside the pericardial cavity of an elderly man who died of unrelated causes. Heterotopic thyroid tissue may be found in many locations throughout the body. Intracardiac and intrapericardial locations, however, are exceptionally rare—this is only the second report of intrapericardial thyroid heterotopia. Such cases may be explained by the proximity of the developing cardiac structures and the foregut, the latter containing thyroid primordia during early embryogenesis.