Pathology Flashcards
What is Hypertrophy?
An increase in the size of a tissue caused by an increase in the SIZE of constituent cells
What is Hyperplasia?
An increase in size of a tissue caused by an increase in the NUMBER of constituent cells
What is Atrophy?
A decrease in size of a tissue caused by a decrease in the number of the constituent cells or decrease in their size
What is Metaplasia?
A change in differentiation of a cell from one fully-differentiated type to a different fully-differentiated type
What is Dysplasia?
An imprecise term for the morphological changes seen in cells in the progression to becoming cancer
What is apoptosis?
Programmed cell death
What is necrosis?
Traumatic cell death
Define congenital?
Present at birth
What is thrombosis?
A solid mass of blood constituents formed within an intact vascular system during life
What are the 3 components of Virchow’s triad?
- Change in vessel wall
- Change in blood flow
- Change in blood constituents
What is an embolus?
A mass of material in a vascular system able to become lodged in the vessel and block it
What is ischemia?
A reduction in blood flow
What is an infarction?
A reduction in blood flow leading to subsequent cell death
What type of cells are most commonly seen in acute inflammation?
Neutrophil Polymporphs
What type of cells are most commonly seen in chronic inflammation?
Macrophages + lymphocytes
What is a granuloma?
A particular type of chronic inflammation with collections
of macrophages/histiocytes surrounded by lymphocytes
What is the sequence of acute inflammation?
- injury or infection
- neutrophils arrive and phagocytose and release enzymes
- macrophages arrive and phagocytose
- either resolution with clearance of inflammation or progression to chronic inflammation
What is the sequence of chronic inflammation?
*either progression from acute inflammation or starts as
‘chronic’ inflammation such as infectious mononucleosis
(thus better term is macrophage/lymphocyte-mediated
inflammation)
* no or very few neutrophils
* macrophages and lymphocytes, then usually fibroblasts
* can resolve if no tissue damage (e.g. viral infection like
glandular fever) but often ends up with repair and formation of scar tissue
What is the difference between resolution and repair?
In repair the initiating factor is still present so the tissue is unable to regenerate. Resolution is full regeneration due to lack of initiating factor.
What is the difference between abraision, healing by 1st intention and healing by 2nd intention?
○ Abrasion - only scraped top off skin, can grow up or across leading to resolution
○ Healing by 1st intention - bring edges of skin together so sutured, stapled. Weak fibrin joint then strong collagen joint formed.
○ Healing by 2nd intention - cant bring edges together. Cells have to grow in. Capillaries + fibroblasts grow in then epithelial cells grow across
Give 6 examples of cells that regenerate:
- hepatocytes
- pneumocytes
- all blood cells
- gut epithelium
- skin epithelium
- osteocytes
Give 4 risk factors for atherosclerosis:
- hypertension
- hyperlipidaemia
- cigarette smoking
- poorly-controlled diabetes mellitus
