Pathology Concepts 1 – Types of Cell Injury Flashcards
A cell/tissue has been stressed, but overcomes this stress and resumes normal physiologic function
Reversible cell injury
No notable long-term morphologic or physiologic changes
A cell/tissue has become damaged and will eventually die due to the severity of the damage
Irreversible cell injury
there is a change in cellular/tissue structure or function that is almost always due to long term stresses
Adaptation
These changes are usually somewhat reversible
examples of Adaptation
Examples: hypertrophy, hyperplasia, atrophy, metaplasia
what are the types of cell injury?
- reversible cell injury
- irreversible cell injury
- adaptation
types of insults to tissues or cells
types of cellular response that happen:
* Hypoxia and ischemia
* Infection, inflammation, and immune-mediated
disorders
* Toxins/chemical agents
* Trauma, compression, thermal injuries
* Deficiencies in nutrients or growth factors
The cellular response to injury depends on:
- type of injury
- duration of the injury
- the severity of the injury
- The adaptability and the metabolism/phenotype of the cell
Big difference between cardiac cells and skeletal muscle cells re: vulnerability to ischemia
a state in which oxygen is not available in sufficient amounts at the tissue level to maintain adequate homeostasis
hypoxia
a condition in which blood flow (and thus oxygen) is restricted or reduced in a part of the body
ischemia
what types of pathophysiological consequences of the insult are clearly visible under the microscope?
- cellular swelling
- non-specific nuclear changes
- Ribosomal detachment, membrane abnormalities due to cytoskeletal disassembly, accumulation of lipids
pathophysiological consequences that are more difficult to observe:
Damage to proteins (including misfolding), DNA, subtle changes in organelle function and size due to damaged membranes
Reversible injury that you can’t see under a light microscope
▪ Changes in calcium concentrations
▪ Unfolded proteins
▪ Damage to DNA or cytoskeletal elements
▪ Loss of membrane potentials or abnormal distribution of molecules across cell membranes
▪ ATP depletion
what is the pathophysiological consequences of loss of mRNA to the cell? Is this visible under a microscope?
a more eosinophilic cytoplasm. This is visible under a microscope
what are small “blebs”? Are they visible under a microscope?
bubble-like outpouchings in the membrane. These are visible under a microscope
what types of irreversible cellular injury would be visible under the microscope?
- Serious loss of integrity – plasma membrane, lysosomal membranes, mitochondrial membranes, ER membranes
- Destruction of cytoskeletal elements
- DNA and nuclear “disruption”
- Karyolysis
- Pyknosis
- Karyorrhexis
Describe karyolysis, an irreversible cellular injury that would be visible under the microscope.
– chromatin fades
Describe Pyknosis, an irreversible cellular injury that would be visible under the microscope.
chromatin condenses, more basophilic (purple), the nucleus shrinks
Describe Karyorrhexis, an irreversible cellular injury that would be visible under the microscope.
visibility of nucleus fragments
what are the two major categories of cell death?
necrosis and programmed cell death
The agents that have injured the physiology/biochemistry of
the cell → immediate loss of cellular viability
necrosis
in necrosis, is cell signalling involved?
If cellular signalling is involved in this process, it is disorganized and unregulated
Cell death is delayed and requires protein synthesis. This can be due to long-term, irreparable cellular damage or
loss of cell use
programmed cell death
is cell signalling involved in programmed cell death?
Cellular signalling is always involved and the cell proceeds through an orderly series of steps → death
what are the best examples of programmed cell death?
apoptosis and necroptosis