Image courtesy of Dr Frank Gaillard, of Radiopaedia.org; Copied Under Creative Commons BY-SA-NC

Psammoma body (derived from the Greek word psammosmeaning “sand”) is a round collection of calcium, seen microscopically. They usually have a laminar appearance; are circular, acellular and eosinophilic in histology.

In which diseases does Psammoma Bodies found?

Many students get confused to remember this part; speaking of remembering the MOST COMMON diseases in which they are found one can remember a mnemonic “PSAM”

  • Papillary thyroid & renal carcinoma, serous cytadenocarcinoma of the ovary, serous carcinoma of the endometrium
  • Prolactinoma of the pituitary
  • Serous Carcinoma
    Somatostatinoma of the pancreas 
  • Adenocarcinoma of the ovaries
  • Meningioma
    Mesothelioma

Features of Psammoma Bodies

  • They are mineralized bodies composed usually of a central capillary surrounded by concentric whorls in various stages of hyaline change and mineralization
  • They can occur in benign and malignant epithelial tumors (such as papillary ovarian or thyroid carcinoma)

Synonyms

  1. Sand bodies
  2. Corpora arenacea
  3. Calcospherite