Psammomic body

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A psammoma body of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Psammoma bodies are round, concentrically layered, eosinophilic calcium accumulations that are visible under the microscope . The name comes from the Greek word psammos , which means "sand".

Psammoma bodies and psammoma body-like calcifications occur in certain tumor diseases:

• papillary thyroid carcinoma
• serous cystadenoma of the ovary
• Meningioma
• psammomatoid ossifying fibroma
• papillary renal cell carcinoma

The origin of the psammomic corpuscles is not entirely clear; one theory postulates that layers of calcium salts are deposited over a necrotic tumor cell . This would explain the concentric layering.

Web links

• Papillary Thyroid Cancer. New York Thyroid Center, accessed: March 25, 2012 (on the connection between psammoma bodies and thyroid cancer)
• Image of a specimen under the microscope

This article is about a health issue. It is not used for self-diagnosis and does not replace a diagnosis by a doctor. Please note the information on health issues !