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Summary Human meninges and 29 meningiomas were analyzed as to their glycosphingolipid composition. In the neutral fraction GSL, a mostly even distribution of mono-, di-, tri-and tetrahexoside was demonstrated. In the group of the gangliosides, Glac 1 in one broad band in chromatogramms occurred in almost all meningiomas; Glac 2 was present in 84% of tumours. Members of the Gtri-family were only found in a small minority of tumours while various Gtet-gangliosides were detectable in nearly half of them. No constant pattern or patterns emerged and no correlation to either morphological subtype or malignancy grade could be established. Immunohistochemistry revealed focal presence of Glac 2 in a pattern similar to that of vimentin expression. Semiquantitative evaluation showed good correlation between both parameters.