Immunopathology Week 3 - Learning Objectives Flashcards
What is Hypertrophy? Provide an example and describe how it effects the body.
Hypertrophy: An increase in the mass of an organ due to an increase in the size of its specialised cells.
Can be physiological or pathological.
Physiological example:
Athlete’s heart muscles
* Heart muscle also hypertrophies
in athletes due to an increased
mechanical workload
Pathological example:
The use of anabolic steroids in some
individuals pathologically causes
skeletal muscle hypertrophy.
What is Hyperplasia? Provide an example and describe how it effects the body.
Hyperplasia is the increase in the mass
of an organ due to an increase in the
number of its specialized constituent
cells.
Hyperplasia can be classified as:
* Physiological
* Compensatory
* Pathological
* Reactive
Physiological hyperplasia:
Female breast
* The juvenile breast has rudimentary ducts
and is identical in both sexes
* As the normal female grows, hyperplasia
occurs This occurs during puberty,
pregnancy and in lactation.
Compensatory hyperplasia:
The enlargement of an organ after
one of a pair is removed.
Pathological hyperplasia:
Callus
* In skin which is subject to chronic irritation,
hyperplasia of epidermis occurs as a result.
This can then form a callus (cornified,
hardened area),
Reactive hyperplasia:
* If the stimulus is pathological, but the
response is physiological, it is then known as
Reactive hyperplasia
Lymph nodes response to
infection
* Hyperplasia in lymph nodes as a
result of infection causing
lymphadenopathy.
What is Atrophy? Provide an example and describe how it effects the body.
Atrophy is the decrease in the mass
of an organ due to a decrease in the
size of cells or due to decrease in the
number of cells.
Physiological atrophy:
Atrophy in the Breast, uterus and vagina
occurs after the menopause.
Localised pathological atrophy:
Disuse atrophy
* Disuse atrophy: Muscles atrophy after a limb is
immobilized (in a cast)
Generalised pathological atrophy:
This affects the entire body
Malnutrition/starvation
* Lack of essential nutrients, such as in
Kwashiorkor (due to protein deficiency) or
Anorexia nervosa, may cause generalised
atrophy of body tissues.
What is Metaplasia? Provide an example and describe how it effects the body.
Metaplasia is a change in the type of cells in a tissue, where one type of mature cell is replaced by another mature cell type that is not typical for that tissue.
Always Pathological.
Smokers’ airways
* As a response to cigarettes (stressor)
What is Dysplasia? Provide an example and describe how it effects the body.
Dysplasia refers to abnormal growth and
differentiation with loss of regularity of cells.
Always pathological.
Leukoplakia
* can occur as a result of either smoking, ill
fitting dentures, or dietary habits.
What is Dysplasia?
The process and consequences of hereditary progressive affections of specific cells in one or more tissues that initially show a normal function
