psammoma
Noun: A specific type of benign tumor, typically derived from fibrous tissue found in the meninges (the membranes covering the brain and spinal cord), the choroid plexus (a structure that produces cerebrospinal fluid), or other related brain structures. It is characterized by the presence of microscopic, calcified bodies that have a gritty, sand-like appearance and texture.
This is a highly specialized medical term used primarily in pathology, neurology, and neurosurgery. It describes a tumor's histological (microscopic tissue) appearance. * The biopsy revealed a psammoma, characterized by its classic calcified particles. * Psammoma bodies are a key diagnostic feature of certain meningeal tumors.
- Psammoma body: This is the defining feature. It refers to the individual, round, laminated, calcified structure that resembles a grain of sand. A tumor is classified as a psammoma based on the presence of numerous such bodies.
- Under the microscope, the pathologist identified numerous psammoma bodies within the tissue sample.
- Psammomatous (adjective): Describing a tumor or tissue that contains psammoma bodies or has the characteristics of a psammoma.
- The diagnosis was a psammomatous meningioma.
- Sand tumor (descriptive, non-technical synonym referencing its gritty composition).
- Psammomatous meningioma (a more specific term for the most common type of tumor where psammoma bodies are found).
This word has no other general or figurative meanings. It is a precise term with a single, specific definition in medical pathology.
- a tumor derived from fibrous tissue of the meninges or choroid plexus or certain other structures associated with the brain; characterized by sandlike particles