Module 1 Flashcards
Define atrophy and how it applies to pathophysiological processes
Atrophy: Decrease in the size of a tissue, organ, or the entire body. In atrophy of an organ or body part, there may be a reduction in the number or in the size of the component cells, or in both. Certain cells and organs normally undergo atrophy at certain ages or under certain physiologic circumstances. Atrophy in general is related to changes in nutrition and metabolic activity of cells and tissues.
A widespread or generalized atrophy of body tissues occurs when?
Under conditions of starvation, whether because food is unavailable or because it cannot be taken and absorbed due to the presence of disease. The unavailability of certain essential protein components and vitamins disturbs the metabolic processes and leads to atrophy of cells and tissues. Associated with the widespread atrophy due to lack of protein is the atrophy of certain tissues that is due to deficiencies of specific vitamins.
Define hypertrophy
Increase in size of cells (organs). Increase in cell size, the heart and kidneys are particularly prone to enlargement. It is associated with an increase accumulation of protein in the cellular components & not with an increase in cellar fluid. It is caused by hormone stimulation or increased functional demand.
What is hyperplasia?
An adaptive increase in the number of cells that can cause enlargement of tissues or organs
6 ways cells can change?
Atrophy, Hypertrophy, Hyperplasia, Metaplasia, Dysplasia, Anaplasia
Hypertrophy vs. hyperplasia
Hypotrophy-individual cells enlarge
Hyperplasia- adaptive increase in the number of cells that causes tissue enlargement
Which of the 6 ways in which cells change is considered precancerous?
Dysplasia
Metaplasia
An adaptive change of one cell type for another to suit the environment. Reversible replacement of one mature cell type by another (Epithelium changes in smokers)
What is an example of Metaplasia?
Squamous metaplasia of the bronchial epithelium due to smoking
or
Gastric or glandular metaplasia of the GE junction in Barrett’s Esophagus
Is metaplasia reversible?
yes, but it can also progress to a more detrimental growth (ie dysplasia)
Dysplasia
Disordered growth of tissues resulting from chronic irritation or infection. Abnormal changes in size, shape and organization of mature cells (can lead to cervical cancer)
How can cells get injured?
- Hypoxia
- Mechanical forces
- Extremes of temperature
- Electrical injuries
- Chemical agents and drugs
- Biological agents
- Ionizing radiation
- Nutritional imbalances
What is hypoxia?
A type of cell death. This is caused by a lack of oxygen to the cells. It causes ATP powered pumps to malfunction. ATP is depleted because little to no oxygen is given to the cell.
What happens during a hypoxic injury
Blood flow falls below a certain critical level that is required to maintain cell viability. The interrupted supply of oxygenated blood to cells results in anaerobic metabolism and loss of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and cellular membrane disruption
Problems hypoxic injury creates
Disrupts the ability of mitochondria to produce ATP, which in turn prevents normal functioning of the Na/K pumps, which leads to leads to swelling & lysis. It is reversible if oxygen is restored quickly.
Mechanisms of cell injury:
1) Depletion of ATP: No energy
2) Impaired calcium homeostasis
3) Free radical injury
1) Depletion of ATP: No energy
2) Impaired calcium homeostasis: Activates pathways that lead to cell death
3) Free radical injury
- Generation of ROS
- Low chemical specificity, highly reactive
- Disrupts pathways
- Damages mitchocondrial DNA > apoptosis
What is ionizing radiation?
Ionizing radiation is radiation with enough energy so that during an interaction with an atom, it can remove tightly bound electrons from the orbit of an atom, causing the atom to become charged or ionized
how does ionizing radiation cause cell injury?
It affects cells by causing ionization of molecules and atoms in the cell, by directly hitting the target molecules in the cell, or by producing free radicals that interact with critical cell components. it can immediately kill cells, interrupt cell replication, or cause a variety of genetic mutations, which may or may not be lethal. Most radiation injury is caused by localized irradiation that is used in the treatment of cancer.
how does non-ionizing radiation cause cell injury?
unlike ionizing radiation which can directly break chemical bonds, nonionizing radiation exerts its effects by causing vibration and rotation of atoms and molecules. all of this vibrational and rotational energy is eventually converted to thermal energy.
Decreased oxygen concentration in the tissues
hypoxia
Decreased oxygen in the blood
hypoxemia
how does hypoxia cause cell damage?
It deprives the cell of oxygen and interrupts oxidative metabolism and the generation of ATP. Damage occurs due to hypoxia, even if it starts out as hypoxemia.
-diminishes ATP production
hypoxia causes ATP depletion or power failure in the cell, what widespread effects on the cell’s structural and functional components will this have?
As oxygen tension in the cell falls, oxidative metabolism ceases, and the cell reverts to anaerobic metabolism, using its limited glycogen stores in an attempt to maintain vital cell functions. cellular pH falls as lactic acid accumulates in the cell. this reduction in pH can have adverse effects on intracellular structures and biochemical reactions.
- Na/K+ ATPase cannot run fast enough so the cell swells up with water
- anaerobic metabolism used = lactic acid produced and the acid damages cell membranes, intracellular structures, and DNA
free radicals
free radicals are molecules with an unpaired electron in the outer electron shell
- extremely unstable and reactive
- can react with normal cell components
- damaging them
- turning them into more free radicals
- normally removed from body by antioxidants
injured cells accumulate what?
calcium
calcium
Cell usually maintains low intracellular calcium
when calcium is released into the cell, it :
-acts as a second messenger inside the cell
-turns on intracellular enzymes, some of which can damage the cell
-can open more calcium “gates” in the cell membrane
letting in more calcium
calcium cascade
the increased calcium level may inappropriately activate a number of enzymes with potentially damaging effects. These enzymes include:
the phospholipases that are responsible for damaging the cell membrane, proteases that damage the cytoskeleton and membrane proteins, ATPases that break down ATP and hasten its depletion, and endonucleases that fragment chromatin.
apoptosis
programmed cell death “cell suicide”
- removes cells that are being replaced or have been worn out
- removes unwanted tissue
- normal process in the body
necrotic cell death
necrosis refers to cell death in an organ or tissue that is still part of a living person
unregulated death caused by injuries to cells
cells swell and rupture
inflammation results
how does necrosis differ from apoptosis?
differs in that it involves unregulated enzymatic digestion of cell components, loss of cell membrane integrity with uncontrolled release of the products of cell death into the intracellular space, and initiation of the inflammatory response.
In contrast to apoptosis, which functions in removing cells so new cells can replace them, necrosis often interferes with cell replacement and tissue regeneration.
apoptosis or programmed cell death how do damaged or worn out cells commit suicide
Turn on their own enzymes inside the cell
digest their own cell proteins and DNA
are then destroyed by white blood cells
apoptosis can be caused by?
signaling factor attached to death domains of cell surface receptors
mitochondrial damage inside the cell
protein p53 activated by DNA damage
metaplasia
Change in cell
represents a reversible change in which one adult cell type is replaced by another adult cell type
metaplasia usually occurs in response to chronic irritation and inflammation and allows for substitution of cells that are better able to survive under circumstances in which a more fragile cell type might succumb
Cardiovascular system pain
1) Costochondritis
2) Angina
3) Myocardial Infarction
Abdominal Pain
1) Pancreatitis
2) Cholecystitis
3) Cholelithiasis
4) Appendicitis
5) Peritonitis
6) Nephrolithiasis
Pelvic Pain
1) Ovarian Cysts
2) Testicular Torsion
Musculoskeletal Pain
1) Gout
2) Osteoarthritis
3) Rheumatoid arthritis
4) Sciatica
5) Osteomyelitis
6) Cellulitis
A MEDICAL SYMPTOM is?
A departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality. A symptom is subjective, observed by the patient, and cannot be measured directly
AMEDICAL SIGNis?
Anobjective indication of some medical fact or characteristic that may be detected by aphysicianduring aphysical examination. Signs may have no meaning to the patient, and may even go unnoticed, but may be meaningful and significant to the healthcare provider in assisting thediagnosisof medical condition(s) responsible for the patient’ssymptoms.
A DIFFERENTIAL DIAGNOSIS (sometimes abbreviated DDx, ddx, DD, D/Dx) is?
A systematic diagnostic method used to identify the presence of a disease state where multiple alternatives are possible. This method is essentially a process of elimination or at least of obtaining information that shrinks the “probabilities” of candidate diseases
Patient presents with chest pain
What can your differential diagnosis (DDx) be?
1) Costochondritis
2) Angina
3) Myocardial Infarction
Patient presents with abdominal pain
What can your differential Dx be?
1) Pancreatitis
2) Cholecystitis
3) Cholelithiasis
4) Appendicitis
5) Peritonitis
6) Nephrolithiasis
7) Menstrual cramps
8) Gas
What are nociceptors?
Nociceptors are how we feel pain. Nociceptors are nerves that send pain signals to the brain and spinal cord. They have specialized receptors, or nerve endings that are triggered to fire by chemical changes in the body. Nociceptors detect temperature, pressure and stretching in and around their surrounding tissues.
- The two main kinds of pain detected by nociceptors are somatic pain and visceral pain. Somatic pain comes from the skin and deep tissues, while visceral pain originates in the internal organs.
- Nociceptors fire when damage is detected, sending pain signals to the spinal cord and the brain. Once the damage has been healed, nociceptors should stop firing.
- They are free nerve endings that respond to stimuli which can be: chemical, mechanical, and thermal
Where are nociceptors located?
- Under epidermis
- Within joint & bone surfaces
- Deep tissues
- Muscles
- Tendons
- Subcutaneous tissue
They are located throughout the body in the skin, internal organs, joints, muscles and tendons.
Nociceptors may be sensitive to:
- extremes of temperature
- mechanical damage
- dissolved chemicals, such as chemicals released by injured cells
Sometimes even after the initial damage has healed, nociceptors may continue to fire, which can lead to? Give an example
chronic pain
I.e. In phantom limb pain, nociceptors continue to fire long after an amputated limb has been removed.
Specificity Theory of Pain
The intensity of pain is directly related to the amount of associated tissue injury.
More relevant with specific injury and acute pain
Less reliable for chronic pain or cognitive contributions to pain
What is a neuromodulator? How can it be triggered?
a substance, other than a neurotransmitter, released by a neuron and transmitting information to other neurons, altering their activities.
- Substances that influence pain
- Can be triggered by:
- Tissue injury
- Chronic inflammatory lesions
What are the different types of neuromodulators?
1) Excitatory Neuromodulators
- Substance P
2) Inhibitory Neuromodulators
- GABA
- Norepinephrine
- Endorphins
A chemical substance that regulates the activity of neurotransmitters at the synpase (it controls the strength of pain occuring) e.g. If your brak your leg, there will be heaps of neuromodulators trying to get to the CNS to tell you OUCH!
neuromodulator
Endorphins
- Inhibitory Neuromodulator
- Attach to opiate receptors
- In afferent neurons
- Inhibits release of excitatory neurotransmitters
- Raises pain threshold
- Opiate drugs
What are two effects that can occur between neural impulses?
It can be inhibitory (blocks the postsynpatic button neuron from firing) OR it can be excitiory (stimulates the neural impulse in another neuron)