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Schaumann bodies deposited along myenteric plexus of the muscularis propria is a unique histopathological feature of Crohn’s disease
  1. Xinning Liu1,2,
  2. Yan Huang3,
  3. Ni Liu1,
  4. Xiaoyu Duan1,
  5. Jingyi Jiang4,
  6. Minhu Chen5,
  7. Mao Ren5,
  8. Yun Qiu5,
  9. Ziyin Ye1
  1. 1Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  2. 2Department of Pathology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  3. 3Department of Pathology, The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
  4. 4State Key Laboratory of Ophthalmology, Zhongshan Ophthalmic Center, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  5. 5Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
  1. Correspondence to Dr Ziyin Ye, Department of Pathology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, 510080 Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; yeziyin{at}mail.sysu.edu.cn; Dr Yun Qiu, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; qyun{at}mail2.sysu.edu.cn

Abstract

Aims Schaumann bodies were first identified in sarcoidosis by Dr Schaumann in 1941. They were also detected in 10% of Crohn’s disease (CD) cases in a study involving patients with surgically resected CD. However, the characteristics and significance of Schaumann bodies in CD have yet to be fully elucidated. This study aimed to determine the pathological features and diagnostic significance of Schaumann bodies in various bowel diseases.

Methods Overall, 278 bowel specimens were collected from patients with CD, intestinal tuberculosis, ulcerative colitis, intestinal schistosomiasis, diverticulosis and idiopathic mesenteric vasculopathy. The frequency, pathology and clinical features of patients with Schaumann bodies were studied.

Results Schaumann bodies were present exclusively in CD (27.0%, 38 of 141) and were not detected in other intestinal diseases within the series. In CD, Schaumann bodies were deposited along the myenteric plexus of the muscularis propria (84.2%, 32 of 38). These bodies were small (diameter: 60.3±32.7 µm) and exhibited a low density in the intestinal wall (1.1±0.4 per low-power field). The majority were located within the cytoplasm of multinucleated giant cells (84.2%, 32 of 38) and were not found within or adjacent to granulomas. Notably, the number of female patients with CD and Schaumann bodies was higher than that of males.

Conclusion Schaumann bodies are common in resected CD specimens, and their characteristic deposition pattern may serve as a diagnostic indication for CD.

  • Crohn Disease
  • DIAGNOSIS
  • Pathology, Surgical

Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplemental information. No data are available.

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Data availability statement

All data relevant to the study are included in the article or uploaded as supplemental information. No data are available.

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Footnotes

  • Handling editor Deepa Patil.

  • XL and YH contributed equally.

  • Contributors ZY contributed to the study concept, design and manuscript drafting, and is responsible for th overall content as guarantor. YQ contributed to the study concept and critical review of the manuscript. XL contributed to the analysis and interpretation of the data and manuscript drafting. YH, MR, NL,MC, JJ and XD contributed to data collection. All authors reviewed and commented on the manuscript and approved the final version.

  • Funding This study was supported by Guangdong Provincial Clinical Research Center for Digestive Diseases (2020B1111170004).

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.