MoD

Question 0

Define atherosclerosis

Answer 0

The thickening and hardening of the arterial wall as a consequence of atheroma

Question 1

Define atheroma

Answer 1

The accumulation of intracellular and extracellular lipid in the intima and media of large and medium sized arteries

Question 2

Define arteriosclerosis

Answer 2

Thickening of walls of arteries and arterioles independently of atheroma e.g. from HTN or DM

Question 3

Define neoplasm

Answer 3

An abnormal growth of cells that persists after the initial stimulus is removed

Question 4

What is a malignant neoplasm?

Answer 4

A neoplasm that invades surrounding tissue with the potential to spread to distant sites

Question 5

Define tumour

Answer 5

Any clinically detectable lump or swelling

Question 6

Define metastasis

Answer 6

A malignant neoplasm that has spread from its original site to a new non-contiguous site

Question 7

What is dysplasia?

Answer 7

A preneoplastic alteration in which cells show disordered tissue organisation (reversible)

Question 8

How do benign neoplasms behave?

Answer 8

Remain confined to site of origin
Do not produce metastases
May become malignant

Question 9

How do malignant neoplasms behave?

Answer 9

Have the potential to metastasise

Question 10

Describe the naked eye appearance of a benign tumour

Answer 10

Grow in a confined local area
Pushing rounded outer margin
May be surrounded by a fibrous pseudocapsule

Question 11

Describe the naked eye appearance of a malignant tumour

Answer 11

Irregular outer margin and shape

May have areas of necrosis (because they grow faster than their blood supply) and/or ulceration

Question 12

What is the difference between a benign and malignant neoplasm with regard to the degree of differentiation?

Answer 12

Benign - well differentiate, closely resemble parent tissue

Malignant - range from well to poorly differentiated

Question 13

What are anaplastic cells?

Answer 13

Have no resemblance to any tissue

Question 14

What features to cells adopt with worsening differentiation?

Answer 14

Increasing nuclear size
Increasing nuclear to cytoplasmic ratio
Nuclear hyperchromasia (increased staining)
More mitotic figures
Pleomorphism - increasing variation in size and shape of cells and nuclei

Question 15

What is an initiator?

Answer 15

Mutagenic agent

Question 16

What is a promoter?

Answer 16

Causes cell proliferation

Question 17

Define monoclonal

Answer 17

All cells originate from a single founding cell

Question 18

Explain the evidence for neoplasm monoclonality obtained from the study of G6PD enzyme in female tumour tissue

Answer 18

Gene has several alleles encoding different isoenzymes
Early in female embryogenesis one allele is randomly inactivated in each cell (lyonisation)
In heterozygous women who happen to have 1 allele encoding a heat stable isoenzyme and 1 allele encoding a heat labile enzyme, normal tissues will contain a patchwork of each type
Neoplastic tissues only express one isoenzyme so are monoclonal

Question 19

How are malignant epithelial neoplasms named?

Answer 19

Carcinoma

Question 20

How are stromal/mesenchymal neoplasms named?

Answer 20

Sarcoma

Question 21

What is the difference between an in situ and an invasive carcinoma?

Answer 21

In situ - no invasion of epithelial basement membrane

Invasive - penetrates through basement membrane

Question 22

What is leukaemia?

Answer 22

Malignant neoplasm of blood-forming cells, arising in bone marrow

Question 23

What is lymphoma?

Answer 23

Malignant neoplasm of lymphocytes, mainly affecting lymph nodes