Mesenteric cystic teratoma in children.

Mesenteric teratoma is an extremely rare tumor, arising, akin all other teratomas, from totipotent primordial cells and displays a mixture of tissues of tridermal or bidermal origin. Two cases of mature mesenteric teratoma in a 5-month-old girl and a 4-month-old boy, the youngest reported in the literature, excluding a case recently diagnosed prenatally, are described. Diagnostic tools, differential diagnosis and management are also discussed.