Orbital hematic cyst: case report and clarification of terms.

We present a case of a hematic cyst and review the literature in order to clarify nomenclature discrepancies regarding terms used to describe cysts containing blood and blood breakdown products in and around the orbit. We believe orbital cysts containing blood and blood breakdown products should be separated into two major categories depending on the presence or absence of an epithelial or endothelial lining. A hemorrhage into a preexisting lesion such as a dermoid, on lymphangioma, which contains blood breakdown products lined by an endothelial or epithelial lining, should be referred to as an acute or chronic hematoma in a dermoid or lymphangioma. In contrast, a hematic cyst contains blood breakdown products and has no epithelial or endothelial lining but rather a fibrous pseudocapsule.