Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging of a benign cystic teratoma in the retroperitoneum.

A retroperitoneal teratoma arising from the vicinity of the upper pole of the right kidney in an 18-year-old woman is described. The plain anteroposterior abdominal radiographs showed irregular calcific shadows with tooth-like calcifications within the right upper quadrant of the abdomen. The findings of a primary cystic teratoma in the retroperitoneum examined by computerized tomography and magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen are presented. Sagittal and coronal magnetic resonance imaging scans were useful to determine the extent of the mass, and to distinguish the mass from adjacent structures and organs.