Primary pulmonary neurilemoma.

Solitary primary nerve cell tumors of the lung are a rarity among benign neoplasms. These tumors arise from the cells of the Schwann sheath enwrapping the nerve bundles of the autonomic nervous system. Their content of collagenous fibers varies. X-ray examination of a 32-year-old woman revealed a round focus in the ventral paracardial lower area of the right lung. Bronchoscopy and computerized tomography gave no indication of malignancy. The tumor, which originated in the middle lobe, was removed from healthy pulmonary parenchyma and histologically proven to be a pulmonary neurilemoma. Since its first description in 1940, only some 53 cases of pulmonary neurilemoma have been reported in the literature.