Dermoid Cysts
Anonymous said to @ask-drferox: Can you tell us about dermoid cysts? My dog has one but when I googled it all the information was either for humans or said they only turn up around the face, and hers is on her back just under her shoulder (a vet tested it and said that's what it is but didn't give me a lot of other info cause we were short on time, I did not diagnose the lump myself)
I’ve discussed dermoid cysts briefly in this post, but it took way too much effort to find it with Tumblr’s search function so I understand if you couldn’t find it.
A dermoid cyst is a congenital condition most common in the Rhodesian Ridgebacks. In dogs they usually occur along the dorsal midline - that is between the top of the skull and the base of the tail along the top of the dog. Very occasionally you’ll see one on the nose.
It’s a weird but cool embryology quirk that the spinal cord actually develops from the same tissue as skin on the outside of the body, it just pinches off and sinks deeper into the embryo. Sometimes some cells get left behind between the surface of the skin and the spinal cord, and these develop into dermal cysts.
Often they contain skin (sometimes hair) and can grow quite large, and they can connect to the lining of the spinal cord
You might have better luck researching the term ‘dermoid sinus’ as that’s probably the more correct term. Dermoid cyst is sometimes used to refer to a teratoma, which is quite different.