RANZCR Pathology flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Coagulative necrosis

Necrosis in which tissue architecture is preserved for days; typical of ischemic injury to heart, kidney, and spleen, where denatured proteins block enzymatic digestion.

Liquefactive necrosis

Enzymatic digestion converts tissue to liquid viscous mass; characteristic of cerebral infarction and bacterial abscesses, where dead neutrophils release hydrolytic enzymes.

Caseous necrosis

Cheese-like friable necrosis with loss of architecture, surrounded by granulomatous inflammation; classically seen in tuberculosis and some fungal infections.

Fibrinoid necrosis

Bright eosinophilic deposits of fibrin and immune complexes within vessel walls; occurs in immune vasculitis and malignant hypertension, often with mural necrosis.

Fat necrosis

Saponification of peripancreatic fat by released lipases, producing chalky white deposits of calcium soaps; seen in acute pancreatitis and fat trauma.

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death with cell shrinkage, chromatin condensation, and apoptotic bodies cleared without inflammation; energy-dependent and caspase-mediated, unlike necrosis.

Granuloma

Aggregate of activated epithelioid macrophages, often with multinucleated giant cells and a lymphocyte rim; caseating in TB, non-caseating in sarcoidosis and Crohn disease.

Metaplasia

Reversible replacement of one mature cell type by another better suited to stress; for example, squamous metaplasia of bronchial epithelium in chronic smokers.

Dysplasia

Disordered growth with loss of uniformity and architectural orientation; graded mild to severe, and severe dysplasia confined by basement membrane equals carcinoma in situ.

Carcinoma in situ

Full-thickness epithelial atypia with intact basement membrane and no stromal invasion; pre-invasive, so lymph node metastasis is not expected.

Tumor suppressor gene

Gene whose loss of function permits neoplasia; usually requires biallelic inactivation (two-hit hypothesis). Examples include TP53, RB, APC, and BRCA1/2.

Oncogene

Mutated or overexpressed proto-oncogene driving proliferation; a gain-of-function change in one allele suffices. Examples include RAS, MYC, and HER2 amplification.

TNM staging

Anatomic extent classification: T for primary tumor size and invasion, N for regional node involvement, M for distant metastasis; stage grouping predicts prognosis.

Batson vertebral plexus

Valveless paravertebral venous plexus allowing retrograde hematogenous spread; explains frequent vertebral and pelvic bone metastases from prostate, breast, and pelvic tumors.

Paraneoplastic syndrome

Remote effects of a tumor unrelated to mass or metastasis, such as hypercalcemia in squamous lung cancer or SIADH in small cell lung cancer.

Tumor lysis syndrome

Rapid destruction of bulky chemosensitive tumor releases potassium, phosphate, and nucleic acids, causing hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia, hypocalcemia, hyperuricemia, and acute kidney injury.

Amyloidosis

Extracellular deposition of misfolded beta-pleated fibrils (apple-green birefringence under polarized light); causes restrictive cardiomyopathy, nephrotic syndrome, and hepatosplenomegaly.

Hyaline arteriolosclerosis

Homogeneous pink thickening of small arterioles from plasma protein leakage; hallmark of benign nephrosclerosis and chronic hypertension, and of diabetes mellitus.

Atherosclerosis plaque

Intimal lesion with lipid-rich necrotic core, foam cells, and fibrous cap; rupture or erosion exposes thrombogenic core, precipitating acute myocardial infarction or stroke.

Aortic dissection

Tear in the intima allows blood to track within the media, creating a false lumen; hypertension and cystic medial degeneration are predisposing factors.

Left ventricular hypertrophy

Compensatory myocardial thickening from pressure overload; reduces compliance and causes diastolic dysfunction, with subendocardial ischemia from increased oxygen demand.

Transudate versus exudate

Transudate is low-protein ultrafiltrate from hydrostatic or oncotic imbalance; exudate is protein-rich from inflammation with increased vascular permeability.

Cirrhosis

Diffuse hepatic fibrosis with regenerative nodules causing portal hypertension; imaging shows nodular contour, caudate hypertrophy, and varices, with hepatocellular carcinoma risk.

Nephrotic syndrome

Heavy proteinuria with hypoalbuminemia, edema, and hyperlipidemia; causes include minimal change disease, membranous nephropathy, and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis.

Nephritic syndrome

Glomerular inflammation with hematuria, red cell casts, hypertension, and oliguria; typical of post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis and IgA nephropathy.

Pneumonia consolidation

Alveolar spaces fill with exudative fluid and neutrophils, replacing air and producing radiographic opacity with air bronchograms; lobar or bronchopneumonic patterns.

Emphysema

Permanent enlargement of airspaces distal to terminal bronchioles with wall destruction; causes hyperinflation, flattened diaphragms, and reduced diffusion capacity.

Pulmonary embolism pathology

Thrombus usually from deep leg veins lodges in pulmonary arteries, causing ventilation-perfusion mismatch; infarction occurs mainly with compromised bronchial circulation.

Cerebral infarction

Ischemic neuronal death causing liquefactive necrosis and later cystic cavitation; cytotoxic edema peaks at days and mass effect can cause herniation.

Multiple sclerosis plaque

Demyelinating lesion with perivenular inflammation and relative axonal preservation; appears periventricular, juxtacortical, infratentorial, or spinal, and disseminates in time.

Osteosarcoma

Primary malignant bone tumor of osteoid-producing cells, typically metaphyseal in adolescents; shows aggressive periosteal reaction such as Codman triangle or sunburst pattern.

Paget disease of bone

Disordered osteoclast-osteoblast remodeling with mixed lytic and sclerotic phases; causes cortical thickening, bone enlargement, and elevated alkaline phosphatase.

Metastatic bone disease

Secondary bone tumor most often from breast, prostate, lung, kidney, and thyroid; lytic, sclerotic, or mixed lesions, frequently axial, causing pain and pathologic fracture.