unusual locations of the hydatid cyst: a review from iran

hydatid disease is caused by echinococcus granulosus and is endemic in many parts of the world, including iran. this parasitic tapeworm can produce cysts in almost every organ of the body, with the liver and lung being the most frequently targeted organs. however, the cyst tends to appear in different and sometimes unusual body sites in various geographical areas of the world. this review provides information on the reported cases of the unusual body sites of the hydatid cyst from iran in the last 20 years. a literature search was performed through pubmed, scopus, google scholar, iranmedex, society information display (sid), magiran, and irandoc using the keywords of “hydatid cyst and iran” and “echinococcus granulosus and iran”, and 463 published cases of the hydatid cyst in unusual body sites from iran were reviewed, evaluated, and discussed. the most common locations were the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and orbit), musculoskeletal system, heart, and kidney, while some less common locations were the spleen, pancreas, appendix, thyroid, salivary gland, adrenal gland, breast, and ovary.