Pathology Flashcards
Liquefactive necrosis
Liquidation of fatty myelin tissue by microglia causing them to become foamy. Brain lacks supportive stroma and fibroblasts.
Reactive gliosis
Hypertrophy and hyperplasia of astrocytes in response to injury.
Cerebral oedema
Vasogenic
- BBB disruption and vascular permeability causing third spacing which cannot be cleared by lymphatics.
Cytotoxic
- Increased ICF due to cell injury in response to ischaemia or metabolic derangement (central pontine myelinosis).
Non-communicating/obstructive hydrocephalus
Mass within the ventricular system disabling fluid to flow through the sub arachnoid space.
- Choroid plexus tumour
Normal pressure hydrocephalus
Enlargement of the entire ventricular system
- Urinary incontinence
- Gait apraxia –> Marche a petit pas –> small stepping gait
- Dementia
Cerebral abscess
Central liquefactive core with haemorrhage surrounded by vasogenic oedema, reactive gliosis, and granulation tissue.
Spongiform encephalopathies
- Prion disease
- Accumulate in neurons and glia
- Neuron loss –> plaques –> dementia
- Spongiform change –> small vacuoles within neurons and glia
- Creutzfeldt-Jakob
Acute chemical mediators
- Vasoactive amines (histamines) –> mast cells
- Arachidonic acids (prostaglandins and leukotrienes)
- Cytokines
- Complement and kinins
Atrophy
Decrease in tissue size due to decrease in cellular proteins due to decreased workload, denervation, hypoperfusion, malnutrition or loss of endocrine signalling.
Keloid scar
- Alternative healing process to granulation tissue
- Epidermis heals normally
- Dermis develops bundles of collagen –> permanent raised lesion
Necrosis v apoptosis
Necrosis
- Cell swell
- Pyknotic, karyorrhectic, karyolitic
- Disrupted cell membrane –> leakage of cell contents
- Adjacent inflammation
Apoptosis
- Cell shrinks
- Organised nuclear fragmentation
- Intact cell membrane –> apoptotic bodies
- Contained inflammation
Lipofuscin
Lipid containing residue from lysosomal degradation that occur during aging causing pigmentation of organs.
Anaplasia
So pleomorphic, the tissue no longer resembles normal tissue.
Dysplasia
Disordered, pre-malignant growth.
Metaplasia
A reversible change from one cell type to another with removal of the stimulus.
Teratoma
Tumours containing cells from all three germ layers - mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm
True end/terminal artery
Only supplied oxygen to a portion of tissue due to the ABSENCE of anastomoses
Functional end/terminal artery
Arteries with limited blood supply due to INEFFECTIVE anastomoses
Cardiac myxoma
- Most common primary cardiac tumour
- Benign
- LA attached to the fossa ovalis
- Polygonal/globular/stellate myxoma cells
- Myxoid stroma
- Mononuclear infiltrate
- Gelatinous mass with haemorrhage and calcification
- Pedunculated/mobile OR sessile/fixed
- Pedunculated –> wrecking ball valve –> obstructs or damages valve
Papillary fibroelastoma
- Second most common cardiac tumour
- Benign
- Arise on the cardiac valves
- Can embolise
- Core of myxoid CT covered with endothelium
Rhabdomyoma
- Most common cardiac tumour in infancy
- Benign hamartoma
- 50% associated with tuberous sclerosis
- Round, pale, grey mass
- Hypertrophied myocytes with large vacuoles and spider cells
Parkinson gait
- Poor initiation
- Absent hand swing
- Shuffling –> small stepping gait
- Stooped posture
- Tremor
Wide based gait
- Foot drop + Romberg’s sign
- Sensory ataxia
- Syphilis - posterior column
- B12
- Diabetic
- Cerebellar disease
High stepping gait
Foot drop
- L5 lesion
- Common peroneal nerve
- Sciatica
- Hemiparetic gait (stroke)
- MND (bilateral)
- Charcot Marie tooth (bilateral)
