Path Flashcards
Hematoxylin stains _____ _____, calcium salts, and bacteria a purply-blue.
Eosin stains _______ and ______ pink-red.
nucleic acid
arginine and lysine
_______ _____-_____: cis-diols are flaming pink. Any insoluble sugar is a cis-diol including glycogen**, epithelial mucin, cartilage, fungus wall, basement membrane, reticulin, a1-antitrypsin
Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)
- obtained easily by anyone in saliva
- used to remove glycogen from slides to be PAS-stained
- PAS+, dPAS- indicates glycogen
- Seen on liver biopsy reports.
Diastase
Oil-red O stain demonstrates what along a vessel?
fat cells
- stains epithelial mucins brilliant pink and everything else brown-to-green.
- It also lights up cryptococcus yeasts.
Mucicarmine
What shows up on a trichrome stain?
Trichrome gives a blue stain to dense type I collagen (connective tissue, scar, etc.)
What stain is used for mycobacteria?
acid-fast
What do argentaffin and argyrophil stain using silver?
serotonin-rich granules of carcinoids
TQ:
What is the best way to light up fungi, especially pneumocystis?
Methenamine silver
- Stains various cell components different colors due to the way they stack dye molecules
- Almost all blood smears use this principle for staining.
Metachromasia
What stain do we use for pap smears?
-Contains some light green (RNA) and orange G (cysteine disulfide bonds)
Papanicolaou’s stain
Nucleic acid stains _____ brown
HPV36
-An expensive way to spot viruses such as this CMV when they do not show the classic histopath yet.
Gene probes
TQ:
- extra neutral fat in vacuoles in non-adipocytes
- Occurs MC in liver and heart
fatty change
6 mechanisms for liver:
- Too much free fat coming to the liver
- Too much fatty acid synthesis by the liver
- Impaired fatty acid oxidation by the liver
- Excess esterification of fatty acid to triglycerides by the liver
- Too little apoprotein synthesis by the liver
- Failure of lipoprotein secretion by the liver.
Non-alcoholic fatty liver is even more common nowadays as a component of the metabolic syndrome.
Fatty liver: lipid drops have sharp edges
Causes?
- Alcoholic hep (neuts, mallory hyaline)
- Metabolic syndrome
- Reye’s
What are two reasons for fatty change in the heart?
- Tiger-stripe / thrush-breast heart of anemia. The muscle away from vessels is hypoxic and can’t burn its lipid fuel.
- Diptheria: microbes produce poison that interferes with burning of lipid regardless of O2 levels (uniformly flabby and fatty heart)
When do we see cholesterol needles?
atherosclerosis
-Clusters of lipid-laden macrophages seen around the eyes
Xanthelasma
-Lipid in quasineoplastic macrophages
Xanthoma
What are 3 examples of xanthomas?
- Strawberry gallbladder
- Tendon xanthomas (familial hypercholesterolemia)
- Palmar xanthomas (primary biliary cirrhosis…yellow lines on palms)
- Abetalipoproteinemia results from lack of apolipoproteins B48 and B100
- Patient can’t absorb fat, which accumulates in the intestinal lining cells
What is seen on a smear?
acanthocytes
“Fatty ingrowth”, in contrast to true fatty change, is simply the appearance of mature fat cells, in excess, in an unusual place
Where do we see it normally? (2)
- pancreas
- lymph node
Glycogen in hepatic nuclei suggests…
pre-mortem hyperglycemia
TQ
- Mucopolysaccharosis I
- Lack of a critical enzyme causes accumulation of heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate in lysosomes
- Zebra bodies
- This leads to progressive brain damage / mental and motor deterioration, enlarged liver and spleen, short stature and the characteristic “gargoyle” appearance.
Hurler’s
- Mucopolysaccharosis II (similar to type I)
- X-linked
- Accumulations of heparan sulfate and dermatan sulfate
- Gargoyle appearance
- Tx: Idursulfase injection
Hunter’s
- Several of the __________ feature disease of the aortic and mitral valve from accumulation
- swollen cusps, swollen lysosomes on electron microscopy, some with zebra bodies.
- mitral stenosis cases are caused by rheumatic fever; much less often, lupus; storage disease a distant third.
mucopolysaccharidoses
- Mucopolysaccharidosis III
- Accumulation primarily of heparan sulfate.
- The problems mostly involve the brain, with progressive mental deterioration.
Sanfilippo
Remember: only heparan sulfate
- Mucopolysaccharidosis IV
- Storage product is keratan sulfate
- Keratan sulfate is mostly found in bone, cartilage, and cornea.
- Mentally normal, but are short
- Develop corneal clouding.
Morquio
TQ
- Pt presents with intractable burning pain in palms and soles
- Deficiency of alpha-galactosidase.
- Ceramide trihexoside accumulates in lysosomes
- X-linked (lyonization=female carriers of Fabry’s are never altogether healthy)
What is the tip off to the diagnosis?
Angiokeratomas
(Fabry’s dz)
The artery deposits show purple metachromasia, pale zebra bodies
What heart issues are seen with fabry’s?
- cardiomyopathy with rhythm problems
- the septum may be thick (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) or there may simply be rhythm problems
What is the only storage dz that affects the glomeruli?
Fabry’s
TQ
- Glucocerebrosidase deficiency
- Glucocerebroside accumulates inside cells, especially the fixed monocyte-derived phagocytes
- Crumbled tissue paper/kleenex
- Hepatosplenomegaly!
- H shaped vertebra
- Mild–>severe (liver/spleen/bone/brain)
Gaucher’s disease
- Lysosomal storage disease resulting from a mutations
- Accumulation of sphingomyelin
- Storage cells look spotty more than crinkly
- Severe brain involvement
- “childhood alzheimer’s”
Niemann-Pick Dz
- GM2 gangliosidosis
- Lack of hexosaminidase A (gene HEXA) with accumulation of ganglioside, mostly in the brain.
- Enlargement of individual neurons–>enlargement of the entire head.
- Cherry red macula
Tay-Sach’s Dz
- Lack of the normal acid lipase in lysosomes so cant break down cholesterol esters
- Affects the liver and leads to precocious atherosclerosis.
Cholesterol Ester Storage Dz
- Glucose-6-phosphatase deficiency
- Patients have difficulty breaking down glycogen, especially in the liver, which becomes overloaded over time (splenomegaly)
- Glycogen is in the cytoplasm, not the lysosomes
- Babies have kewpie doll faces
What is the tx?
-Continuous ingestion of carbohydrate (often as cornstarch). The key is to avoid “the fasting state” and thus dangerous hypoglycemia.
(Von-Gierke’s Glycogen Storage Dz Type I)
-Deficiency of acid alpha-glycosidase
-Only glycogen storage disease with glycogen actually within lysosomes (glycogen pellets)
-Heart, skeletal muscle, and liver
are involved (brain spared)
-Babies have enlarged, weak hearts and may present as floppy baby
Pompe’s dz
- Deficiency of any of the three enzymes that govern the metabolism of galactose, from milk. If it’s missed, the results are catastrophic.
- Galactose that cannot be metabolized becomes galactitol (dulcitol) and/or galactose-1-phosphate, which causes edema of cells
Galactosemia
Assoc s/s of galactosemia?
-Cataracts: galacitol absorbing fluid into lens
-Severely-affected children
can still suffer brain damage – most famously, a tendency to swap consonants (verbal dyspraxia).
- “mucolipidosis II” features a lack of N-acetylglucosamine-1-phosphate transferase so can’t tag proteins to be discarded via the Golgi.
- Striking accumulations appear in macrophages.
I-cell disease
- reappeared due to colloidal silver health fraud
- Blue skin
Argyria
-Eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion made of lead complexed with nuclear proteins
Lead poisoning
- On polarized light, it looks like hot cross buns (“maltese crosses”)
- Uremic frost
Kidney failure
- Carbon enters our body as smoke, soot, or pigment (tattoo)
- Tattoos: macrophages with carbon
- Carbon in the tissues such as lung and LN is called what?
anthracosis
- Brown “wear and tear” pigment… but babies already have plenty in their little heart cells.
- Strained myocardium has more and it regresses over time on healing.
Lipofuscin
- Macrophages of colon are black
- Caused by cascara laxatives, eating rhubarb, or any mass-apoptosis of colon cells
Melanosis coli
What are the two types of melanin in mammals?
Eumelanin (black)-most common
Pheomelanin (red)-red heads
- no melanin produced
- Eye problems make it a “real disease.”
- Melanin in the choroid is required for normal growth of the fovea.
True albinism
What is mutated in rufous albinism
- Binds melanocyte-stimulating hormone for pigment
- Red hair
Mutant MC1R
TQ
- Leftover phenylalanine is usually hydroxylated into tyrosine. If this doesn’t happen, the extra phenylalanine becomes phenylketones, which are neurotoxins.
- Tx: diet low in phenylalanine.
- Microcephaly from the profound brain damage.
- Patients tend to be blond(e) since there’s little tyrosine to make into melanin polymer
Lack of what enzyme is responsible?
Lack of phenylalanine hydroxylase
Phenylketonuria
Mutated kit leads to a distinctive pattern of skin or hair where there is a white patch on the head and stomach. What is this called?
piebaldism
When do you see hemosiderin?
- Hemosiderin-laden macrophages in lung (“heart failure cells”)
- Areas of repeated injury and bleeding
- Brain macrophages after encephalitis
- Scars when high body iron
- Skin when capillaries break frequently because of venous stasis or frequent irritation / rubbing
- Asbestos in lung (“ferruginous bodies”)
- Ringed sideroblasts
- Iron in small bile ducts
- Prussian blue stain
Hemochromatosis
- Copper deposits in liver or basal ganglia
- Kayser-Fleischer rings
- Rhodanine stain
Wilsons dz
- Blackens the thyroid first, then elsewhere
- Teeth also blackened
Long-term minocycline use
- Results from lack of homogentisate oxidase, which breaks the aromatic ring of tyrosine
- Homogentisic acid accumulates
- Fragile cartilage
- Low back pain
- Urine turns black if left exposed to open air.
- “ochronosis” blackening of the cartilages (ear)
Alkaptonuria
TQ
In malaria, the plasmodium protect themselves from free iron-heme complex by converting it into _______, which accumulates as cytoplasmic granules
-Looks like hemosiderin but no prussian blue rxn
-Kupffer cells
hemozoin
TQ:
- __________: All indirect (unconjugated) bilirubin
- Biliary obstruction: All direct (conjugated) bilirubin at first
- Hepatocellular disease: Plenty of both
Hemolysis
may see bile plugs in obstructive jaundice or primary cancer of hepatocytes
-Something calcifies because it is already abnormal.
Ex:
- Uterine fibroid, scar, aortic valve, atherosclerosis
- Psammoma bodies: tumors BM
- Schaumann bodies, Langhans giant cells
- Monckeberg’s: media of large arteries
Dystrophic calcification
-Something calcifies because the serum calcium and/or serum phosphate is too high.
-The lungs and kidneys are most likely to be seriously involved (calcify)
Ex:
-Parathyroid hyperfunction (Ca)
-Kidney failure (P)
Metastatic calcification
Any mass composed of a single protein will look “hyaline” – it’s an adjective.
hyaline
Hyaline
- Eosinophilic droplets in proximal tubular epithelial cells
- Protein resorption in renal tubular lysosomes in a patient with what?
heavy glomerular proteinuria
Hyaline
- Round accumulations of monoclonal protein (IgG) that are inside the ER, usually Ig in plasma cells
- Grape/mott cells
Russel bodies
- Hyaline globule
- Remnant of apoptotic cells found at sites of ongoing apoptosis
- Also seen in tumors that have forgotten how to remove apoptotic fragments
Thanatosomes
Viral inclusions, such as in CMV and herpes are made of what?
hyaline
-The usual problem is that a1-antitrypsin can be made but not exported from the rough endoplasmic reticulum of the liver -Liver damage from the deposits, and/or pulmonary emphysema in non-smokers (from lack of elastase inhibition) results
What do you see and stain with?
Antitrypsin hyaline globules (gumballs) stained with PAS
- Scrambled keratin-ubiquitin typically in liver cells
- Aggresomes
- Pink cottage cheese
Mallory’s alcoholic hyaline
What are yokoo bodies?
giant mitochondria due to drinking (hyaline)
Collagen can be hyalinized in scars and other abnormal proliferations. What are these called?
Keloid
Thick BM in glomeruli (hyaline)
Diabetes
Amyloid is _-pleated anything. What stain do we use?
B (beta)
- Congo red
- apple green when polarized
Fibrinoid is seen in the walls of blood vessels that are dead but still have flowing blood. What does this result from?
- Type III immune injury
- High physical pressure (malignant HTN)
- Radiation
- Pregnancy or Infx
Greatly increased ground substance is called what? What is it seen in?
Myxoid change
- hypothryoidism
- colloid cancers–>large mucin lake
Swollen mitochondria
Reye’s syndrome
- Caused by lack of a protein that mobilizes iron from in & around mitochondria, which then sustain free-radical damage.
- Progressive dz
- Cerebellum affected, dilated cardiomyopathy, high arched feet
What is the gene?
Gene=FXN: Frataxin
Friedreich’s ataxia
Parking lot crystals and ragged red fibers=?
mitochondrial myopathy
What cells are packed with mitochondria?
Hurthle cell & oncocyte tumor cells, and apocrine sweat glands.
TQ
Giant mitochondria in an alcoholic’s liver
Yokoo bodies
A ______ is a mutated clone of melanocytes which lost their way
A ______ is a mutated clone of melanocytes which over produces melanin. No changes in the dermis
nevus
freckle
- Extra pigment production under eyes/cheeks; no one knows why. -
- See “raccoon eyes” appearance, and is known as the “mask of pregnancy,” because it is sometimes seen in pregnant patients that are taking oral contraceptives.
Melasma
- Extra pigment & elongated rete pegs.
- Your stable “moles”
- As you grow older, you may see a set on your back and upper shoulder.
- Another variant is the familiar large, single one on an older person’s face.
Lentigo
solar lentigo
-melanotic macules
Café au lait spots
Dx?
- melanotic macules are giant melanosomes. They are called “Coast of California café au lait spots.”
- Also see armpit freckles.
Neurofibromatosis
Nevi genetics:
-Acquired mutations in what leads to a nevi?
NRAS or BRAF downstream of RAS
TQ Which nevi? -small, relatively flat lesions -symmetric and uniform -Nests of odd melanocytes at the dermal-epidermal junction (@ ridges)
Junctional nevus
TQ Which nevi? -Symmetric and well circumscribed -Regular arrangement of nests -Both junctional and intraepidermal components
Compound nevus
TQ
Which nevi?
-The nervus cells are primarily in the dermis and don’t reach the junction.
-The odd melanocytes stay a short distance from the epidermis
Intradermal nevus
TQ
Which nevi?
-present at birth but may not pigment until later
-malignant melanomas may arise
-Cells are deep in the dermis and may involve hair!
-occur on a dermatome, so no matter how much you excise it, it will grow back. Something in the spinal nerves causes this change. One example is the “Faun’s tail.”
Congenital nevus
Ex: Hairy congenital nevus
TQ
Which nevi?
-Flat, blue, or blue-gray skin markings near the buttocks that commonly appear at birth or shortly thereafter.
-They typically fade by the age of 5.
-DON’T call it “child abuse that was so severe that the bruise never went away!!”
-histo: dendritic melanocytes deep in dermis
Mongolian Spot
TQ
Which nevi?
-Black-blue nodule
-The odd, spindle-shaped melanocytes are deep in the dermis and resemble dendrites
-Use a Melan-A stain: the deep dermis is what gives it a blue appearance.
Blue nevus
TQ
Which nevi?
-Reddish-pink, brown red
-Nasty looking cells that mature as they go deeper→nests of cells that look like rain
-Epitheliod-and-spindle cell nevi seen in kids
-May be compound and may see kamino bodies at dermoepidermal jx
-Often on the face
-Looks like malignant melanoma
-Must biopsy
Spitz nevus
TQ
Which nevi?
-melanocytic nevi that are under attack by the immune system
-Local depigmented area around the nevus.
Halo nervus
TQ
Which nevi?
-A dark blue-brown birthmark that sometimes appears on the eye
-Due to dendritic melanocytes in the dermis
-Asians, forehead, temple, cheeks, and nose
Ota’s nervus
TQ Which nevi? -Super-androgen-sensitive -A big, dark, extra-hairy patch that usually appears on a man’s upper back or shoulder at puberty. -Extra arrector pili muscles=firm area
Becker’s nevus
TQ
Which nevi?
-These are “premalignant moles”
-Can often see fused rete pegs, large nests, and layered fibrosis in the upper dermis near the lesion
-Loss of fx in CDKN2A gene for melanoma
-Notch-1 positive when stained.
-Typically >5mm across, flat or slightly raised, multicolored and irregular borders
-Can occur on sun exposed and non-sun exposed skin
Dysplastic nevi
- Lentigo composed of malignant melanocytes on sun damaged skin but without invasive features
- Bump formation with fine dusty melanocytes (bizarre), and epidermal atrophy
- It looks like a normal lentigo, but there are ugly cells (Anaplastic cells at dermal-epidermal junction). -Use a Melan-A stain (stains nasty melanocytes brown)
Lentigo maligna
- Due to sun exposure or autosomal dominant inherited defect
- UV damage–>mut of CDKN2A cell cycle control genes–>incr melanocyte prolif
- Incr RAS, PI3K/AKT signaling for growth and survival
- Preservation of telomeres–>uncrontrolled growth (TERT gene)
Melanoma
- Big nucleoli are usual—stain with S100 or HMB-45 (and then it does NOT light up with keratin stain)
- Mitotic figures, fine dusty appearance, fibrosis, regression
- The “vertical growth phase”: begin to invade deeper..assoc with a nodule
- Look for irregular borders and variegated pigmentation
- Rapid growth and bleeding are signs
- Satellite lesions (little black patches just beyond the main lesion, are extremely suggestive of this→ if seen microscopically, more likely to be aggressive
How do we measure the clinical outcome of this dz?
Melanoma outcome measured by Breslow thickness (histo)
Breslow depth corresponds to clarks levels
- occurs on the palm/sole, mouth, or black-white junction of a darkly-pigmented person’s hands and feet (non hair-bearing places)
- Common in black folks especially in the tropics
- Often involves fingernail!!
- atypical melanocytes assoc with desmoplasia (scarring) and dermal invasion
Acral-lentiginous Melanoma
“Bob Marley’s cancer”
- malignant cells dont make melanin
- skin may be pink, purple, red, normal
- asymmetrical and irregular with a faint border
- very poor prognosis
Amelanotic melanoma
TQ
- a congenital hamartoma usually on the hairline on the temple
- often present at birth
- **epidermal hyperplasia with incr sebaceus glands and hair follices
- Assoc with neurocutaneous syndrome
- Looks like a patch of flies eggs.
Nevus sebaceus
- See benign basal-type cells (benign pearls) and horn cysts.
- These keratosis often contain clear cells and pigment that are foolers for melanoma, however all the cells are keratinized
- The lesions are pigmented, usually are crusty, and can be scraped off with a butter knife.
- P63 stain will show uniform nuclei
- S100 stain is negative
Seborrheic keratosis
“The sign of Leser-Trelat” is a sudden eruption of seborrheic keratoses. Why is this impt?
This is a warning of internal malignancy (probably colon cancer or other malignancy)
- multiple black facial spots seen on many people of African ancestry
- histo looks like seborrheic keratosis
Dermatosis papulosa nigra
- seborrheic-style hyperplasia covering each armput and/or the groin.
- Warning of internal adenocarcinoma and / or syndrome insulin resistance OR a result of nicotinamide administration
Acanthosis nigricans