Abstract

Chordoma was suspected with the aspirated materials from 18 year-old woman high school girl complaining of severe pain on sacrococcygeal region and legs as well as walking disturbance over a year. The first tiny biopsy piece of sacrococcygeal region revealed only nonspecific chronic inflammation. No response to antibiotic and conservative therapy. An aspiration cytology and cell block preparation were done. The former revealed very characteristic vacuolated physaliferous cells in considerable numbers and the later showed same cells as well as foci of cells mimicking osteogenic sarcoma. Another biopsy obtained at the other hospital in Seoul revealed the lobulated groups of similar vacuolated cells mentioned as above were separated by fibrous tissue and foci of the aggregation of aggressive cells.