1 - Cell injury

Question 1

If cell injury is ‘lethal’, what does this mean?

Answer 1

causes cell death

Question 2

If cell injury is ‘sublethal’, what does this mean?

Answer 2

produces injury not amounting to cell death, may be reversible or may progress to cell death

Question 3

What can be the cause of hypertrophy?

Answer 3

increased functional demand or specific hormone stimulation

e.g. cardiomyocytes adapt to increased stress by displaying hypertrophy

Question 4

What does ‘trophy’ refer to?

Answer 4

the size of cells and organs

Question 5

what does ‘plasia’ refer to?

Answer 5

the number of cells

Question 6

What type of hyperplasia is cancer?

Answer 6

pathological

Question 7

Give an example of metaplasia?

Answer 7

Barrett’s oesophagus

squamous lined epithelium is replaced by columnar epithelium

Question 8

What has dysplasia not invaded?

Answer 8

haven’t invaded the basal lamina

Question 9

What are the 2 light microscopic changes associated with reversible injury?

Answer 9

fatty change and cellular swelling

Question 10

What changes are seen during coagulative necrosis?

give an example

Answer 10

substance changes but the shape of the molecules doesn’t change
tissue retains the same structure

e.g. myocardial infarction

Question 11

What changes are seen during liquefactive necrosis?

give an example

Answer 11

transformation of tissue into a liquid viscous mass

e.g. old cerebral infarct

Question 12

What changes are seen during caseous necrosis?

What disease is it associated with?

give an example

Answer 12

‘cheesy’ necrosis
The tissue maintains a cheese-like appearance.
The necrotic area is granular, which makes it caseous
The dead tissue appears as a soft and white proteinaceous dead cell mass.

associated with TB

e.g. pulmonary TB

Question 13

What changes are seen during fat necrosis?

give an example

Answer 13

associated with acute pancreatitis

release of lipases which digests the fat and hydrolyse triglycerides to FA and glycerol
the FA combine with calcium forming areas of fat necrosis

Question 14

What is apoptosis?

Answer 14

programmed cell death of single cells
NOT associated with inflammation
active - require energy

Question 15

Necrosis vs apoptosis

Answer 15

necrosis is pathological
but
apoptosis can be physiological or pathological

apoptosis is usually a response to mild injury
necrosis is a response to severe injury

Question 16

List the causes of apoptosis

Answer 16

• embryogenesis
• deletion of auto reactive T-cells in the thymus
• hormones
• cell deletion in proliferating populations
• injuries that cause irreplaceable DNA damage that triggers cell suicide pathways