Intraneural cyst is a rare lesion. Probably the earliest case was that of Hartwell 4 reported in 1901. The patient had a mass the size of a chestnut on the medial aspect of the arm just above the elbow and at operation it was found to be a cystic tumor involving the median nerve. The contents of such a cyst may be semigelatinous in consistency and result from mucoid degeneration of a schwannoma or a neurilemmoma. An intraneural cyst should not be mistaken for a ganglion which may by proximity cause compression of an adjacent nerve. At times, a connection between a cystic mass and the joint has been found in the vicinity of a nerve traversing a joint such as the knee, suggesting the possibility of synovial origin. The possibility of traumatic origin of an intraneural cyst has been discussed by Brooks3 It is felt that one of our cases (Case 1) represents posttraumatic cystic degeneration involving the peroneal nerve while the second case is more truly one of mucoid degeneration within the substance of the nerve. In neither of our cases was there a wellformed lining, and on neurolysis the semigelatinous material extruded, leaving behind a space surrounded by the bundles of nerve. There were no unusual extensions of the cystic cavity superiorly or inferiorly. Recently, Barrett and Cramer 1 reported on 4 cases of this condition involving the common peroneal nerve. Later, Cramer 3 discussed his experiences with this disease before the Harvey Cushing Society in April, 1964. These authors emphasized the importance of careful dissection during removal of the cysts and suggested that only simple decompression be done when the integrity of the nerve is threatened. They feel that in nonoperative cases distal degeneration of the nerve fibers will occur. The ~ patients reported upon in this paper were seen within l0 days of each other at the Grace Hospital. Case 1 was operated upon in the Department of Neurosurgery and Case 2 was treated in the Department of Hand Surgery.
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