PATHOLOGY TERMS III

Question 1

Predisposing conditions

Answer 1

Predisposing conditions are those conditions or factors that make the body more susceptible to the development of the disease.

Question 2

LIST 10 Predisposing conditions

Answer 2

Age
Race
Nutritional Status
Sex
Occupation
Emotion/Stress
Environmental
Economic Status
Excitatory/immediate cause
Trauma/mechanical injury

Question 3

List 3 Physical Agents that may cause damage to the body

Answer 3

1. Heat / high temperature – may produce local or general damage. Local damage may take the form of burns, while generalized damage may lead to heat stroke.
2. Low temperature – may cause frostbite.
3. Electricity/ x rays

Question 4

List 3 types of chemical agents that may cause damage to the body

Answer 4

Chemical agents – are those compounds that produce some type of cellular swelling:

1. Strong acids or bases Drugs
2. Poisons
3. Gases (carbon monoxide)

Question 5

Infectious agents

Answer 5

Infectious agents are various microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses and parasites which are responsible for hundred of infectious disease affecting the body

Question 6

Deficiency of essential substances

Answer 6

Deficiency of essential substances are diseases that are the results of the body’s lack of some essential dietary item, such as a vitamin or mineral necessary for normal body function.
A good example would be rickets, which results from a lack of Vitamin D

Question 7

Allergens

Answer 7

Allergens are foreign particles such as dust or pollen which are responsible for reactions occurring within the body of a person who is sensitive to these allergens.

Question 8

Heredity factors

Answer 8

Heredity factors come into play when fertilization of the ovum (egg) occurs, a certain amount of genetic material is passed from both the father and mother of the new child. If one or more of the genes this child inherits is defective, the characteristic controlled by that gene is likely to be flawed. Although heredity is often immediate factor in disease, one’s genetic make-up may also be a predisposing factor in certain diseases.

Question 9

Degeneration

Answer 9

Degeneration is a regressive tissue change characterized by swelling of the cells and chemical changes within the cell’s cytoplasm.

Question 10

List 5 forms of Degeneration

Answer 10

1. Cloudy Swelling
2. Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis
3. Amyloid Disease - Waxy/starch like
4. Infiltration
5. Pigmentation

Question 11

What is the most common and least damaging type of degeneration?

Answer 11

Cloudy Swelling: seen in most infections, burns, malnutrition and shock.

Question 12

Cloudy Swelling form of degeneration is caused by

Answer 12

Cloudy swelling is caused by an increase in the water content in the affected cell.

Question 13

What is the organ most often affected by cloudy swelling form of degeneration?

Answer 13

Organs most often involved with cloudy swelling are the liver and kidneys, less often the heart.

Question 14

What is the abnormal accumulation of fat or lipid within the cell, form of degeneration?

Answer 14

Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis

Question 15

With Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis, what is the most common organ affected?

Answer 15

With Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis, the most common organ affected is the liver.- Grossly the fatty liver is yellow, soft and greasy.

Question 16

What is the most common etiology associated with Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis?

Answer 16

1. Alcoholism is the most common etiology, but others include
2. starvation,
3. heavy metal poisoning,
4. chronic passive congestion,
5. prolonged fevers and
6. anoxia (lack of sufficient oxygen for normal function).

Question 17

How does cells affected by Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis look under a microscope?

Answer 17

The microscope shows individual cells with the normally pink cytoplasm all but cleared out by fat, giving the cells an “empty” appearance.

Question 18

Is the change in cells from Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis reversible?

Answer 18

The change in cells from Fatty Degeneration or Steatosis is potentially reversible, but may progress to scarring and cirrhosis if the source of damage is not addressed.

Question 19

What does Amyloid mean?

Answer 19

Amyloid = waxy, starch-like

Question 20

What is Amyloid Disease?

Answer 20

Amyloid Disease is a disease in which a waxy, starch-like glycoprotein accumulates in tissues and organs impairing their function.

Question 21

Where is Amyloid disease formed?

Answer 21

Amyloid is formed in the body and deposited in various organs and it can be wide-spread, depending on the specific disease process and involve the kidney, liver, spleen, adrenal glands and other organs.

Question 22

What is the primary disease caused by the accumulation of amyloid?

Answer 22

The accumulation of amyloid may represent a primary disease called amyloidosis.

Question 23

What is Infiltration?

Answer 23

Infiltration is the process of a substance passing into a cell and being deposited within the substance of a cell, tissue or organ. It is an accumulation of a substance(s) that are not normally present or is present in an excess amount. It is an intracellular change

Question 24

What is Pigmentation?

Answer 24

Pigmentation is an increase in the amount or irregular distribution or pigments (color). There are two types…

Question 25

What are the two types of Pigmentation?

Answer 25

The two types of Pigmentation are Exogenous Pigmentation and Endogenous Pigmentation.

Question 26

What is Exogenous pigmentation

Answer 26

Exogenous pigmentation is a tissue discoloration due to pigments that are not normally present In the body. These come from outside the body such as breathing (pneumoconiosis).

Question 27

What is Endogenous Pigmentation?

Answer 27

Endogenous pigmentation – is a tissue discoloration due to pigments that are normally present in the body.

Question 28

Name two examples of Exogenous pigmentation

Answer 28

1. Carotenemia – yellow discoloration of the skin from eating large amounts of carotene containing food such as carrots. This is easily confused with jaundice (endogenous pigmentation).
2. Anthracosis – a carbon pigmentation deposited in the lungs when inhaling coal dust over a long period of time.

Question 29

List three examples of Endogenous Pigmentation

Answer 29

1. Melanin – the brownish/black pigment in the epidermis (skin).
2. Freckles – localized areas where melanin is increased.
3. Jaundice or icterus – yellow discoloration in the skin, eyes, nails due to the retention of bilirubin (the pigment portion of bile).