ACOUSTIC NEUROMA

An acoustic neuroma, also called a vestibular schwannoma, is a benign primary intracranial tumor of the myelin-forming cells of the vestibulocochlear nerve (CN VIII). (Neuroma is derived from Greek, meaning "nerve tumor".) The term "acoustic" is a misnomer, as the tumor rarely arises from the acoustic (or cochlear) division of the vestibulocochlear nerve. The correct medical term is vestibular schwannoma, because it involves the vestibular portion of the 8th cranial nerve and it arises from Schwann cells, which are responsible for the myelin sheath in the peripheral nervous system. Approximately 3,000 cases are diagnosed each year in the United States with a prevalence of about 1 in 100,000 worldwide. Incidence peaks in the fifth and sixth decades and both sexes are affected equally.

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