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Cavernous hemangioma

Etiology: • Unknown.

Pathogenesis: • Unknown.

Epidemiology: • Often noted in childhood.

General Gross Description: • Benign vascular malformation. • Usually solitary; however, multiple cavernous hemangiomas occur in a genetic disorder, called von Hippel-Lindau disease. • Grossly, cavernous hemangiomas are blue, soft and spongy.

General Microscopic Description: • Histologically, the lesion is characterized by large, thin walled blood vessels completely filled with blood. • In contrast to other hemangiomas, vascular channels are of large diameter (hence, cavernous or like a cave). • Evidence of previous hemaorrhage often seen.

Clinical Correlations: • Present as blue lesions. • Tumors are of most often only of cosmetic significance. • However, when present in the brain, hemorrhage could be a lethal consequence. • In von Hippel-Lindau disease, several of these lesions are seen, in the cerebellum, brain stem and abdominal viscera.

References: •Robbins "Pathologic Basis of Disease". (Cotran, Kumar and Robbins, Eds). 5th Edition. pp 507.