Pathology Flashcards
Definition of inflammation?
A local physiological response to injury
What’s special about basal cell carcinomas?
They only invade locally
Definition of a benign tumour?
A growth that doesn’t invade neighbouring tissues or spread around the body
Definition of a malignant tumour?
A growth the grows uncontrollably and spreads to other parts of the body
Definition of a carcinoma?
carcinoma = malignant neoplasm of epithelial origin
Definition of a sarcoma?
a cancer that originates in supportive and connective tissues (bones, tendons, cartilage, muscle, and fat)
e.g osteosarcoma (bone), chondrosarcoma (cartilage), leiomyosarcoma (smooth muscle)
What is the grade of a neoplasm?
How much a neoplasm resembles normal tissue - it’s high grade if it doesn’t resemble normal tissue and comes with worse prognosis
What is an anaplastic tumour?
Cancer of unknown cell origin
Definition of carcinogenesis?
- Transformation of normal cells to neoplastic cells
- through permanent DNA alterations/mutations
What is the sequence of events that take place for metastasis to occur?
What is a tumour of striated muscle called?
Rhabdomyoma/Rhabdomyosarcoma
What is a tumour of smooth muscle called?
Leiomyoma/leiomyosarcoma
What is a tumour of cartilage called?
Chondroma/chondrosarcoma
Key risk factor for atherosclerosis?
Hypercholesterolaemia
Three steps of atherosclerotic formation?
Three constituents of an atherosclerotic plaque?
What’s the first cell to arrive on the scene for acute inflammation?
Neutrophils
How do corticosteroids work to reduce inflammation?
Bind to DNA - up-regulate inhibitors of inflammation and down-regulate mediators
What three cells are involved in chronic inflammation?
- Macrophages
- Lymphocytes
- Plasma cells
(and then usually fibroblasts)
What is a granuloma?
- a focal aggregate of immune cells
- that forms in response to a persistent inflammatory stimulus.
(usually macrophages/histiocytes surrounded by lymphocytes)
What are the stages of acute inflammation? (4 things)
- Vasodilation
- Increased vessel permeability
- Fluid exudate formation
- Neutrophil migration
What are the six stages of neutrophil emigration in acute inflammation?
RATCPA
rolling
adhesion
transmigration
chemotaxis
phagocytosis
apoptosis
What are the four outcomes of inflammation?
PROS
What do granulomas secrete as a blood marker?
ACE (mainly in sarcoidosis)
What are the two main types of granuloma?
Name 3 cytokines produced by macrophages in chronic inflammation
interferon alpha + beta
IL1
TNF-alpha
Give the most common type of chronic inflammation.
Most common:
Primary Chronic Inflammation
Others:
Transplant Rejection
Progression from acute
Recurrent episodes of acute
inflammation
Definition of a thrombus?
- Formation of a solid mass
- from blood constituents
- in an intact vessel of a living person
Definition of an embolus?
A solid mass or substance that is carried through the blood to a place it gets stuck, blocking a vessel.
Describe Virchow’s triad
What two types of granules do platelets contain and what do they do?
alpha granules - platelet adhesion (fibrinogen)
dense granules - platelet aggregation (ADP)
What four things activate platelets and cause them to release their granules and contents?
Thrombin
TXA2
Collagen
ADP
Three steps of platelet plug formation?
AAA
Clotting factors involved in the intrinsic pathway?
Clotting factors involved in the extrinsic pathway?
Clotting factors involved in the common pathway? What’s the final product?
what’s the main difference in composition of arterial vs venous clots?
what colours are venous and arterial clots respectively?
how sensitive is the D-dimer blood test for DVT?
give four conditions that can cause raised D-dimer?
after a D-dimer blood test, what test is needed to diagnose a DVT?
What protein detects DNA damage within cells and can trigger apoptosis?
p53
What family of enzymes are mainly involved in apoptosis?
Caspases
Give two examples of apoptosis in disease
Cancer - damage to p53 gene means the cells don’t apoptose as normal
HIV - HIV virus can induce apoptosis in CD4 helper cells, can cause immunodeficiency
Definition of necrosis?
Wholesale destruction of a large number of cells by some external factor
What does the body do after necrosis?
Macrophages attempt to phagocytose the dead cells and they’re replaced by fibrous scar tissue.
Give three inducers of apoptosis.
Glucocorticoids
Free radicals
DNA damage
Most organs in the body only have one artery supplying them, what’s this called?
End arterial supply
What is adjuvant therapy?
extra therapy given after surgical excision
Definition of hypertrophy?
Increase in size of a tissue due to increase in size of its constituent cells (occurs in organs where cells can’t divide)
Definition of hyperplasia?
Increase in size of a tissue due to increase in number of its constituent cells
Definition of atrophy?
- Decrease in size of a tissue
- due to decrease in size or number of its constituent cells
Definition of metaplasia?
Change in cell differentiation from one fully-differentiated type to another fully-differentiated type
Definition of dysplasia?
- morphological changes
- that may be seen in cells
- in the progression on to a development of cancer
precancerous change!!!!
Definition of a neoplasm?
- a lesion
- resulting from the autonomous and abnormal growth of cells
- which persists after the initiating stimulus has been removed
