A varied and confusing picture is presented by the breast tumor first described by Chelius1 in 1828 as a "cystic hydatid." Several specimens were described in more detail by Johannes Müller2 in 1838 under the name of "cystosarcoma phyllodes." The confusion regarding the character and behavior of this interesting tumor is well brought out in the list of names employed in describing the 121 examples which have been reported to date. These various names are as follows:
Cystic hydatid—Chelius1 1828
Cellular hydatid—Cooper3 1829
Cystosarcoma—Fischer4 1835
Cystosarcoma phyllodes—Brunn 1838 (published by Müller2)
Hydatid tumor of the breast—Warren5 1839
Serocystic tumor—Brodie6 1846
Cystic sarcoma—Erichsen7 1852
Telangiectatic cystosarcoma—Amado8 1872
Proliferous cystosarcoma—Gross9 1874
Intracanalicular papillary fibromyxoma—Bigelow10 1876
Intracanalicular sarcoma—Iverson11 1877
Intracanalicular myxofibroma—Watson12 1878
Intracanalicular papillary fibromyxoma—Watson12 1878
Sarcoma with lacunar cysts—Raingeard13 1882
Intracanalicular myxoma—Jüngst14 1884
Proliferating cystic