Gamna-Gandy bodies in surgical neuropathology specimens: observations and a historical note

Gamna-Gandy (G-G) bodies are classically defined as spheroidal yellow-brown foci consisting of dense fibrous tissue and collagenous fibers encrusted with iron pigments and calcium salts. These siderotic nodules were first described in the spleen early in the twentieth century and for a short time were considered to be caused by fungal infection due to the presence of unusual "bamboo-like and articulated" fibers in the lesions that vaguely mimicked mycelia forms. This notion was proven to be incorrect in the 1930s and G-G bodies are now considered to result from organization of small hemorrhages. Although originally reported in splenomegaly, G-G bodies are well-recognized findings in atrial myxomas where they form linear arrays of mineral-encrusted fibers, often at the edge of resolving hemorrhages. They rarely have been reported in lymph nodes, thymoma, thyroid adenoma, and renal cell carcinoma. Curiously, published examples of G-G bodies in central nervous system (CNS) neoplasms or vascular malformations have not appeared, despite the known tendency for bleeding, even recurrent episodes of bleeding, in several types of these lesions. Since 1999 I have accrued all the examples of G-G bodies that I have observed in my practice of surgical neuropathology. These cases are presented here and the historical aspects of the entity are reviewed.