A 35-year-old woman with sarcoidosis has a non-caseating granuloma in the lung biopsy. The Schaumann bodies and asteroid bodies within giant cells are best described as:

• A Schaumann bodies are dystrophic calcifications of necrotic tissue; asteroid bodies are viral inclusion bodies
• B Schaumann bodies are calcium-protein concretions; asteroid bodies are star-shaped cytoplasmic inclusions in Langhans giant cells ✓
• C Both are pathognomonic for tuberculosis, not sarcoidosis
• D Schaumann bodies are lipid-laden macrophages; asteroid bodies are amyloid fibrils arranged radially

Explanation

Schaumann bodies are concentric laminated calcified protein concretions found in the cytoplasm of giant cells in sarcoidosis (and other granulomatous diseases). Asteroid bodies are star-shaped eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions also found within giant cells. Neither is pathognomonic for sarcoidosis alone, but both are characteristic findings. The key feature distinguishing sarcoid from TB granulomas is the absence of central caseous necrosis in sarcoidosis.

Reference: Robbins & Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed.

High-yield for: NEET PGINI-CETNExTFMGEUSMLEPLABMRCP

Written and medically reviewed by the StethoPrep medical team.