Pneumoconiosis, Thrombi, and Emboli Flashcards
What is pneumoconiosis?
inhalation and deposition of dust particles in the lung
What is anthracosis?
-lungs turn black from inhaling coal or carbon dust
-results in black lung disease, also known as coal miner’s disease
note: a subtype of this is caplan’s syndrome which is black lung (anthracosis) + RA
What is Caplan’s syndrome?
black lung (anthracosis) + RA
What is asbestosis?
-inhalation of asbestos
-found in building materials and car parts
-inhalation leads to mesothelioma (irritation or scarring of lung tissue causing lungs to become stiff)
Which inhalation disorder caused mesothelioma?
asbestosis
What is mesothelioma?
irritation and scarring of lung tissue causing lungs to become stiff
What is silicosis?
-inhaling silica from sand, rocks, or glass
-common in sandblasting, mining stone cutting, and ceramics
What is siderosis?
-inhalation of iron dust
-damages lungs and will appear rusty orange
Which brain structure is affected first by alcohol?
cerebellum
What is the #1 cause of Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome?
alcohol
What is Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome?
-usually 2 separate conditions that can occur concurrently or Wernicke first followed by Korsakoff
-Wernicke’s is related to thiamine (B1) deficiency and causes ataxia, confusion, nystagmus, and opthalmoplegia
-Korsakoff’s causes memory loss, amnesia, difficulty understanding the meaning of inflammation or context, hallucinations exaggerated storytelling, or confabulation (filling in memory gaps by telling imaginary experiences)
define thrombosis
a blood clot which blocks a blood vessel
What is Virchow’s triad?
3 abnormalities which lead to thrombosis:
1) endothelial injury (damage to endothelial layer of blood vessel)
2) stasis or turbulent blood flow
3) hyper-coagulability of the blood
Abnormal blood flow is often caused by atherosclerotic plaque or aneurysms. What is the difference between turbulence and stasis?
turbulence= blood flow speeds up causing areas of countercurrents (eddy currents) or local pockets of stasis (stopped blood flow), major factor is development of arterial thrombi
stasis= blood flow slows, major development of the venous thrombi
Is blood flow faster in arteries or veins?
arteries
If part or all of a thrombus is poorly attached, it will detach and migrate through the blood as an….
embolus
Thrombi which form in fast flowing blood may have apparent laminations (lines) called ______________ which are layers of pale colored platelets and fibrin layers alternating with darker red cell layers. These lines help distinguish antemortem clots from postmortem clots
lines of Zahn
What are varicose veins?
-veins become very prominent
-caused by incompetent valves
-veins become torturous and valves are no longer functional
What are the 5 different types of thrombi?
1) mural
2) arterial
3) venous
4) postmortem
5) vegetations
Where do mural thrombi form and what are they caused by?
formed in the heart chambers or aorta
caused by arrhythmias, cardiomyopathy, or MI
Which thrombi type is usually caused by endothelial injury and rich in platelets due to platelet activation?
arterial thrombi
Which thrombi type is this?
-usually propagate some distance toward the heart
-prone to give rise to an embolism
-typically forms in sluggish circulation
-contains more enmeshed red cells
-most commonly occurs in the legs (90% of time) but can also occur in arms or elsewhere
venous thrombi
What is thrombophlebitis?
inflammatory process which causes a blood clot to form and block 1+ vein, usually in the legs
can be superficial or deep
Which thrombi type is often mistaken for venous thrombi, however, the dark red cells have yellow “chicken fat” portion attached to them, not at the vessel wall?
postmortem thrombi
