Aschoff bodies

body (bod´e)

1. the largest and most important part of any organ.

2. any mass or collection of material.

3. trunk (1).

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acetone bodies  ketone bodies.

amygdaloid body  corpus amygdaloideum.

anococcygeal body  see under ligament.

aortic bodies  small neurovascular structures on either side of the aorta in the region of the aortic arch, containing chemoreceptors that play a role in reflex regulation of respiration.

bodies of Arantius  small tubercles, one at the center of the free margin of each of the three cusps of the aortic and pulmonary valves.

asbestos bodies  ferruginous bodies whose center is asbestos.

Aschoff bodies  submiliary collections of cells and leukocytes in the interstitial tissues of the heart in rheumatic myocarditis.

asteroid body  an irregularly star-shaped inclusion body found in the giant cells in sarcoidosis and other diseases.

Auer bodies  finely granular, lamellar bodies having acid-phosphatase activity, found in the cytoplasm of myeloblasts, myelocytes, monoblasts, and granular histiocytes, rarely in plasma cells, and virtually pathognomonic of leukemia.

Barr body  sex chromatin.

basal body  a modified centriole that occurs at the base of a flagellum or cilium.

Cabot's ring bodies  lines in the form of loops or figures-of-8, seen in stained erythrocytes in severe anemias.

carotid body  a small neurovascular structure lying in the bifurcation of the right and left carotid arteries, containing chemoreceptors that monitor oxygen content in blood and help to regulate respiration.

Carotid body, located deep to the carotid bifurcation and innervated by a plexus of glossopharyngeal, vagal, and sympathetic components.

cavernous body of penis  corpus cavernosum penis.

ciliary body  the thickened part of the vascular tunic of the eye, connecting the choroid and iris.

Cowdry type I inclusion bodies  eosinophilic nuclear inclusions of nucleic acid and protein seen in cells infected with herpes simplex or varicella-zoster virus.

Döhle's inclusion bodies  small bodies seen in the cytoplasm of neutrophils in many infectious diseases, burns, aplastic anemia, and other disorders, and after the administration of toxic agents.

Donovan's body  an encapsulated bacterium, Calymmatobacterium granulomatis, found in lesions of granuloma inguinale.

embryoid bodies  structures resembling embryos, seen in several types of germ cell tumors.

ferruginous bodies  small masses of mineral matter in the lungs resulting from deposition of calcium salts, iron salts, and protein around a central core of foreign matter.

fruiting body  a specialized structure, as an apothecium, which produces spores.

geniculate body, lateral  an eminence of the metathalamus, just lateral to the medial geniculate body, marking the end of the optic tract.

geniculate body, medial  an eminence of the metathalamus, just lateral to the superior colliculi, concerned with hearing.

Golgi body  see under complex.

Hassall's body  one of the formed elements of the blood; a leukocyte, erythrocyte, or platelet.

Heinz bodies , Heinz-Ehrlich bodies inclusion bodies resulting from oxidative injury to and precipitation of hemoglobin; seen in the presence of certain abnormal hemoglobins and erythrocytes with enzyme deficiencies.

hematoxylin body  a dense, homogeneous particle consisting of the denatured nuclear material of an injured cell, occurring in systemic lupus erythematosus; lymphocytes that ingest such particles are known as LE cells. Called also LE b.

hyaloid body  vitreous b.

immune body  antibody.

inclusion bodies  round, oval, or irregular-shaped bodies in the cytoplasm and nuclei of cells, as in disease due to viral infection, such as rabies, smallpox, etc.

ketone bodies  the substances acetone, acetoacetic acid, and β-hydroxybutyric acid; except for acetone (which may arise spontaneously from acetoacetic acid), they are normal metabolic products of lipid within the liver, and are oxidized by muscles; excessive production leads to urinary secretion of these bodies, as in diabetes mellitus.

lamellar body  keratinosome.

LE body  hematoxylin b.

Leishman-Donovan body  amastigote.

mammillary body  either of the pair of small spherical masses in the interpeduncular fossa of the midbrain, forming part of the hypothalamus.

Masson bodies  cellular tissue that fills the pulmonary alveoli and alveolar ducts in rheumatic pneumonia; they may be modified Aschoff bodies.

metachromatic bodies  see under granule.

Negri bodies  round or oval inclusion bodies seen in the cytoplasm and sometimes in the processes of neurons of rabid animals after death.

Nissl bodies  large granular basophilic bodies found in the cytoplasm of neurons, composed of rough endoplasmic reticulum and free polyribosomes.

olivary body  olive (2).

pacchionian bodies  arachnoidal granulations.

para-aortic bodies  enclaves of chromaffin cells near the sympathetic ganglia along the abdominal aorta, serving as chemoreceptors responsive to oxygen, carbon dioxide, and hydrogen ion concentration and which help control respiration.

pineal body  a small conical structure attached by a stalk to the posterior wall of the third ventricle; it secretes melatonin. Called also epiphysis cerebri and pineal gland.

pituitary body  hypophysis.

polar bodies 

1. small nonfunctional cells consisting of a tiny bit of cytoplasm and a nucleus, resulting from unequal division of the primary oocyte (first polar b.) and, if fertilization occurs, of the secondary oocyte (second polar b.) .

2. metachromatic granules located at the ends of bacteria.

psammoma body  a spherical, concentrically laminated mass of calcareous material, usually of microscopic size; such bodies occur in both benign and malignant epithelial and connective-tissue tumors, and are sometimes associated with chronic inflammation.

quadrigeminal bodies  corpora quadrigemina.

Russell bodies  globular plasma cell inclusions, representing aggregates of immunoglobulins synthesized by the cell.

sand bodies  the mass of gritty matter lying in or near the pineal body, the choroid plexus, and other parts of the brain.

body of sternum  the principal portion of the sternum, located between the manubrium above and the xiphoid process below.

trachoma bodies  inclusion bodies found in clusters in the cytoplasm of the epithelial cells of the conjunctiva in trachoma.

tympanic body  an ovoid body in the upper part of the superior bulb of the internal jugular vein, believed similar to the carotid body in structure and function.

vermiform bodies  peculiar sinuous invaginations of the plasma membrane of Kupffer cells of the liver.

vitreous body  the transparent gel filling the inner portion of the eyeball between the lens and retina.

Weibel-Palade bodies  rod-shaped intracytoplasmic bundles of microtubules specific for vascular endothelial cells and used as markers for endothelial cell neoplasms.

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Aschoff bodies

Etymology: Karl A.L. Aschoff, German pathologist, 1866-1942; AS, bodig

tiny rounded or spindle-shaped nodules containing multinucleated giant cells, fibroblasts, and basophilic cells. They are found in joints, tendons, the pleura, and the cardiovascular system of rheumatic fever patients.