Pathology

Question 1

What is neuromuscular disease?

Answer 1

Damage at any one of the levels in the passage of a message from a nerve to the final contraction of a muscle.

Impairs normal function.

Question 2

What are some causes of peripheral neuropathies?

Answer 2

medications (esp. chemotherapy for cancer)

diabetes mellitus (adult onset, likely high blood sugar)

infections (viral or bacterial infections) i.e. shingles, epstein-barr virus, hepatitis C, leprosy, diptheria and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)

autoimmune diseases i.e. lupus, rheumatoid arthritis

Question 3

What are some symptoms of peripheral neuropathies?

Answer 3

temporary numbness, tingling, pricking

sensitivity to touch, burning pain especially at night

atrophy, paralysis, organ or gland dysfunction

exhaustion

Question 4

What is Wallerian degeneration?

Answer 4

damage to nerve axons leading to failure of nerve impulse transmission

if the axon is completely transected, it is unlikely that it can regenerate

Question 5

What is Charcot Marie Tooth (CMT) disease?

Answer 5

a disease affecting the nerves outside of the CNS resulting in problems with feet, hands, and balance. It is the most common inherited peripheral neuropathy.

Clinical presentation:

• chronic muscle weakness & atrophy in limbs
• sensory loss in feet & hands
• foot & hand deformity

Question 6

What is Guillain-Barre syndrome?

Answer 6

an autoimmune reaction following a viral illness which affects nerve roots and myelin degeneration

paralysis begins distally and ascends to involve the respiratory muscles requiring ventilation

clinical presentation:

• a tingling or prickly sensation in fingers/toes
• muscle weakness in legs that travels proximally

Question 7

What is poliomyelitis?

Answer 7

a highly infectious viral disease that invades the nervous system (targets and destroys lower motor neurones)

can cause total paralysis in hours

clinical presentation:

• fever
• fatigue
• headache
• vomiting
• neck stiffness
• limb pain

Question 8

What is Duchenne & Becker muscular dystrophy?

Answer 8

x-linked (seen in boys)

progressive weakness seen by age 5 with the inability to walk by early 20’s

caused by an abnormality in dystrophin gene that normally maintains sarcolemmal cell membrane integrity

muscle fibres degererate and are replace by fat

Duchenne= full loss of gene
Becker= patrial loss of gene

Question 9

What is myotonic dystrophy (MD)?

Answer 9

a disease that affects the muscles and other body systems

most commonly begins in adulthood

characterized by loss of muscle and weakness

Question 10

What is the difference between MD 1 & MD 2? (myotonic dystrophy)

Answer 10

MD 1 affects the legs, hands, neck and face (more severe symptoms)

MD 2 affects the neck, shoulders, elbows and hips (more mild symptoms)

Question 11

What is myasthenia gravis (MG)?

Answer 11

a disease of the neuromuscular junction in which antibodies develop to the acetylcholine receptors

most common MG is ocular myasthenia gravis (OMG) affecting the muscles around the eyes

Question 12

What are some causes of physiological atrophy?

Answer 12

hormone withdrawal, ageing, lack of exercise

Question 13

What are some causes of pathological atrophy?

Answer 13

ischaemia (reduced blood flow), endocrine disorders, nerve damage, lack of nutrition

Question 14

What is hypertrophy?

Answer 14

increase in cell & tissue size

Question 15

What is hyperplasia?

Answer 15

increase in cell numbers (cell division)

Question 16

What is atrophy?

Answer 16

decrease in cell size, numbers & tissue size

Question 17

What is metaplasia?

Answer 17

change in cell differentiation, better equipped for environmental stress

Question 18

What is dysplasia?

Answer 18

distorted growth pattern, pre-neoplastic, often increased mitoses

Question 19

What is the difference between labile, stable and permanent cells?

Answer 19

labile: continuous cell proliferation i.e. skin, gut, resp tract
stable: do not normally proliferate but are able to i.e. liver, kidney, smooth muscle
permanent: no capacity to divide i.e. neurons, cardiac muscle

Question 20

What are some causes of cell injury/cell death?

Answer 20

lack of oxygen & ischaemia, chemicals/drugs toxicity, mitochondrial damage, free radical formation, build-up of intracellular calcium

Question 21

What is gouty arthritis?

Answer 21

metabolic products like urate crystals form in the joints resulting in pain and loss of function

Question 22

What is the difference between apoptosis and necrosis?

Answer 22

apoptosis= programmed cell death 
necrosis= lysis of cell

Question 23

What are some general signs of inflammation?

Answer 23

heat, reddness, swelling, loss of function

systemic signs: fever, increased leukocyte count, sleepiness, hypotension

Question 24

What is meningitis?

Answer 24

acute inflammation from a bacterial infection resulting in neutrophils (pus) filling the subarachnoid space, vessels become engorged with blood. This can lead to vessel occlusion and ischaemic damage in the brain

Question 25

What is laryngitis?

Answer 25

acute inflammation from a viral or bacterial infection resulting in oedema and airway obstruction

Question 26

What is a macrophage’s role in wound healing?

Answer 26

activated by blood monocytes, macrophages increase in size, ingest and kill microbes, and digest cell debris

macrophages produce pro-fibrotic messenger molecules called cytokines

neutrophils have a similar role but are not as efficient as macrophages and have a shorter life span

Question 27

What is granulation tissue (in regards to wound healing)?

Answer 27

new connective tissue and blood vessels that form during wound healing

Question 28

What is fibrosis?

Answer 28

the development of fibrous connective tissue as a reparative response to injury

results from chronic inflammation

Question 29

What is rickets disease?

Answer 29

also known as osteomalacia

deficiency of vitamin d resulting in softening of bone and failure to replace calcium and phosphorus in the organic matrix of bone