Schiller–Duval body is a cellular structure seen by

microscope A microscope () is a laboratory equipment, laboratory instrument used to examine objects that are too small to be seen by the naked eye. Microscopy is the science of investigating small objects and structures using a microscope. Microscopic ...

endodermal sinus tumor Endodermal sinus tumor (EST) is a member of the germ cell tumor group of cancers. It is the most common testicular tumor in children under three, and is also known as infantile embryonal carcinoma and yolk sac tumor. This age group has a very good ...

s (yolk sac tumors) which are the most common testicular cancer in children. Schiller-Duval bodies are present in approximately 50% of these tumors, and if found are

pathognomonic Pathognomonic (synonym ''pathognomic'') is a term, often used in medicine, that means "characteristic for a particular disease". A pathognomonic sign is a particular sign whose presence means that a particular disease is present beyond any doubt. ...

. They are named for Mathias-Marie Duval and Walter Schiller who described them in the late nineteenth century. Schiller–Duval bodies are said to resemble a

glomerulus ''Glomerulus'' (; : glomeruli) is a common term used in anatomy to describe globular structures of entwined vessels, fibers, or neurons. ''Glomerulus'' is the diminutive of the Latin ''glomus'', meaning "ball of yarn". ''Glomerulus'' may refer to ...

. They have a

mesoderm The mesoderm is the middle layer of the three germ layers that develops during gastrulation in the very early development of the embryo of most animals. The outer layer is the ectoderm, and the inner layer is the endoderm.Langman's Medical ...

al core with a central

capillary A capillary is a small blood vessel, from 5 to 10 micrometres in diameter, and is part of the microcirculation system. Capillaries are microvessels and the smallest blood vessels in the body. They are composed of only the tunica intima (the inn ...

, all lined by flattened layers of both visceral and parietal cells. Immunofluorescent stain may show eosinophilic hyalin-like globules both inside and outside the

cytoplasm The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...

that contain AFP and

alpha 1-antitrypsin Alpha-1 antitrypsin or α1-antitrypsin (A1AT, α1AT, A1A, or AAT) is a protein belonging to the serpin superfamily. It is encoded in humans by the ''SERPINA1'' gene. A protease inhibitor, it is also known as alpha1–proteinase inhibitor (A1P ...

. File:Histopathology of endodermal sinus tumor with Schiller–Duval bodies.png, Histopathology of endodermal sinus tumor with Schiller–Duval bodies.
(a) papillary pattern combined with small tubopapillary endodermal sinus structure (Schiller–Duval body) in blue circle;
(b) marked tubulopapillary sinusoidal structure with central vascular core in longitudinal section (Schiller–Duval body);
(c,d) 400× g magnified image plus zoom of diagnostic round cystic Schiller–Duval body in a transverse section, with microcystic and papillary patterns around. The body has a central vessel surrounded by fibrous tissue, called the fibrovascular core, and it is surrounded by layers of the tumoral cells at the surface of that stalk. The structure is located in open cystic space also lined by tumoral cells. All those structures together are called a Schiller–Duval body and resemble primitive glomerulus. H&E stain.

References

Andrology {{oncology-stub