Psammoma body

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In the field of pathology, a psammoma body is a round collection of calcium, seen microscopically. The term is derived from the Greek word psammos meaning "sand."

Psammoma bodies are commonly seen in certain tumors such as:

papillary thyroid carcinoma
serous papillary ovarian adenocarcinoma
endometrial adenocarcinomas
meningioma
mesothelioma

Psammoma bodies have a laminar appearance.

The origin of psammoma bodies is controversial, but one theory is that the nidus for their formation is a single necrotic tumor cell, upon which layers upon layers of calcium salt deposits are added.