Tumour of the glomus jugulare (non-chromaffin paraganglioma) of the ponto-cerebellar angle treated with x-irradiation.

Tumours of the glomus jugulare expanding into the posterior fossa are of the utmost rarity. Most such tumours originate primarily in the middle ear and later tend to expand in the direction of the external auditory canal. They are, therefore, recognized as a rule at an otoscopic examination and, consequently, most references to this tumour are found in the oto-laryngological literature. According to Bickerstaff and Howell, only four out of 90 cases collected from the literature up to 1953 presented early neurological features. We have found only five welldocumented cases of tumour of the glomus jugulare expanding into the posterior fossa and originating in the paraganglionic structures of this region (Alexander, Beamer, and Williams, 1951; Albernaz and Bucy, 1953; Semmes, 1951; Meacham and Capps, 1960; Thoms, Shaw, and Trowbridge, 1960).