Psammoma body

A psammoma body is a round collection of calcium, seen microscopically. The term is derived from the Greek word άμμος (ámmos), meaning "sand".

Cause

Psammoma bodies are associated with the papillary (nipple-like) histomorphology and are thought to arise from,

Infarction and calcification of papillae tips.
Calcification of intralymphatic tumor thrombi.^[1]

Association with lesions

Psammoma bodies are commonly seen in certain tumors such as:

Papillary thyroid carcinoma^[2]
Papillary renal cell carcinoma^[3]
Ovarian papillary serous cystadenoma and cystadenocarcinoma^[4]
Endometrial adenocarcinomas (Papillary serous carcinoma ~3%-4%)
Meningiomas, in the central nervous system^[5]
Peritoneal and Pleural Mesothelioma
Somatostatinoma (pancreas)^[6]
Prolactinoma of the pituitary ^[7]
Glucagonoma^[8]
Micropapillary subtype of Lung Adenocarcinoma^[9]

Benign lesions

Psammoma bodies may be seen in:

Endosalpingiosis^[10]
Psammomatous melanotic schwannoma
Melanocytic nevus^[11]

Appearance

Psammoma bodies usually have a laminar appearance, are circular, acellular and basophilic.

References

^ Johannessen JV, Sobrinho-Simões M (September 1980). "The origin and significance of thyroid psammoma bodies". Lab. Invest. 43 (3): 287–96. PMID 7401638.
^ Chapter 20 in: Mitchell, Richard Sheppard; Kumar, Vinay; Abbas, Abul K; Fausto, Nelson (2007). Robbins Basic Pathology. Philadelphia: Saunders. ISBN 978-1-4160-2973-1. 8th edition.
^ "Renal Cell Carcinoma". The Lecturio Medical Concept Library. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^ Ovarian papillary serous cystadenocarcinoma at WebPath, The Internet Pathology Laboratory for Medical Education at Mercer University School of Medicine. Retrieved July 2011
^ "Brain Stem & Posterior Fossa". Archived from the original on 2000-03-01.
^ Lewis RB (2010). "Pancreatic Endocrine Tumors: Radiologic-Clinicopathologic Correlation". RadioGraphics. 30 (6): 1445–1464. doi:10.1148/rg.306105523. PMID 21071369.
^ Robbin's Pathology, Eight Ed
^ "Glucagonoma". The Lecturio Medical Concept Library. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^ Emoto K, Eguchi T, Tan KS, Takahashi Y, Aly RG, Rekhtman N, Travis WD, Adusumilli PS (2019). "Expansion of the Concept of Micropapillary Adenocarcinoma to Include a Newly Recognized Filigree Pattern as Well as the Classical Pattern Based on 1468 Stage I Lung Adenocarcinomas". J Thorac Oncol. 14 (11): 1948–1961. doi:10.1016/j.jtho.2019.07.008. PMC 8785415. PMID 31352072.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Hallman KB, Nahhas WA, Connelly PJ (September 1991). "Endosalpingiosis as a source of psammoma bodies in a Papanicolaou smear. A case report". J Reprod Med. 36 (9): 675–8. PMID 1774734.
^ Rapini, Ronald. Practical Dermatopathology. Elsevier Mosby, 2005, p. 10.