Iran Specialty Board Pathology flashcards

37 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 infarction in solid organs such as heart and kidney, except the brain.

Caseous necrosis

Cheese-like necrosis with amorphous granular debris and granulomatous inflammation; classically seen in tuberculosis and some fungal infections.

Granuloma

Compact aggregate of epithelioid macrophages, often with Langhans giant cells and lymphocytes; caseating in tuberculosis, non-caseating in sarcoidosis.

Metaplasia

Reversible replacement of one mature epithelial type by another, such as squamous to columnar in Barrett esophagus, usually in response to chronic irritation.

Gleason Grade Group 2

Prostate cancer with Gleason score 3+4=7; intermediate risk, with the secondary pattern 4 component influencing prognosis compared with Grade Group 1.

Lepidic pattern

Lung adenocarcinoma growth along intact alveolar septa without stromal, vascular, or pleural invasion; associated with better prognosis than solid or micropapillary patterns.

Signet-ring cells

Cells with a large cytoplasmic mucin vacuole displacing the nucleus; characteristic of diffuse gastric cancer and associated with loss of E-cadherin.

Breslow thickness

Vertical depth of melanoma invasion from the granular layer to the deepest tumor cell; the strongest prognostic factor along with ulceration.

ASC-US

Atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance on cervical cytology; managed by HPV triage, with colposcopy if high-risk HPV is positive.

Koilocyte

Squamous cell with perinuclear halo and nuclear enlargement and wrinkling, reflecting human papillomavirus cytopathic effect and corresponding to LSIL.

Bethesda category VI

Thyroid fine needle aspiration category indicating malignancy, such as papillary, medullary, or anaplastic carcinoma; requires surgical management.

Mesothelioma immunostains

Malignant mesothelioma is positive for calretinin, WT1, and CK5/6, and negative for MOC-31, Ber-EP4, and CEA, distinguishing it from adenocarcinoma.

Auer rod

Needle-shaped cytoplasmic inclusion of fused azurophilic granules in myeloblasts; its presence supports acute myeloid leukemia, especially acute promyelocytic leukemia.

Reed-Sternberg cell

Large binucleated cell with prominent nucleoli, positive for CD15 and CD30; the diagnostic cell of classic Hodgkin lymphoma.

Anemia of chronic disease

Normocytic or microcytic anemia with low serum iron and low TIBC but normal or high ferritin, reflecting iron sequestration mediated by hepcidin.

APL emergency

Acute promyelocytic leukemia with t(15;17) PML-RARA; associated with disseminated intravascular coagulation and treated urgently with all-trans retinoic acid.

Anion gap

Calculated as sodium minus the sum of chloride and bicarbonate; normally 8-12 mEq/L, elevated in ketoacidosis, lactic acidosis, renal failure, and toxin ingestion.

HbA1c

Glycated hemoglobin reflecting average blood glucose over roughly three months; affected by hemoglobin variants and conditions altering red cell lifespan.

Westgard 1-3s rule

Quality control rule rejecting a run when one control value exceeds the mean by more than three standard deviations; detects random error.

Troponin

Cardiac biomarker released with myocardial injury; serial measurement showing rise and fall is required to distinguish acute myocardial infarction from chronic elevation.

Ziehl-Neelsen stain

Acid-fast stain using carbolfuchsin that detects mycobacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis in sputum and tissue; auramine-rhodamine fluorescence is an alternative.

MacConkey agar

Selective and differential medium containing bile salts and lactose with neutral red; lactose fermenters such as E. coli form pink colonies, non-fermenters are colorless.

MIC

Minimum inhibitory concentration, the lowest antimicrobial concentration inhibiting visible growth; interpreted against CLSI or EUCAST breakpoints as susceptible, intermediate, or resistant.

Type IV hypersensitivity

T-cell mediated delayed hypersensitivity developing over 24-72 hours, as in tuberculin reaction, contact dermatitis, and transplant rejection.

Anti-dsDNA

Autoantibody highly specific for systemic lupus erythematosus; levels correlate with disease activity and lupus nephritis.

C3 deficiency

Low complement C3 occurs in active SLE and post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis; hereditary C4 deficiency predisposes to SLE and infections.

Fluorescence in situ hybridization

Technique using fluorescent probes to detect chromosomal translocations and gene amplifications, such as BCR-ABL1, ALK rearrangement, and HER2 amplification.

ACMG variant classification

Framework categorizing sequence variants as pathogenic, likely pathogenic, variant of uncertain significance, likely benign, or benign using evidence criteria.

Mismatch repair immunohistochemistry

Staining for MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, and PMS2; loss of nuclear expression suggests microsatellite instability and warrants Lynch syndrome evaluation.

Manner of death

Classification of death as natural, accident, suicide, homicide, or undetermined; distinct from cause of death, which is the disease or injury.

Rigor mortis

Postmortem stiffening from ATP depletion and actin-myosin cross-linking; begins in 1-2 hours, peaks near 12 hours, and resolves by 24-36 hours.

ISO 15189

International standard specifying quality and competence requirements for medical laboratories, covering preanalytical, analytical, and postanalytical processes.

Proficiency testing

External program sending unknown samples to laboratories and comparing results with peer or reference values; required for accredited tests.

Whole-slide imaging

Digitization of entire glass slides at diagnostic resolution for viewing, archiving, and telepathology; requires validation against glass slides before clinical use.

HL7 interface

Messaging standard used for laboratory order entry and result reporting between laboratory information systems and electronic health records.

Sensitivity

Proportion of truly diseased individuals correctly identified by a test, calculated as true positives divided by true positives plus false negatives.

Number needed to treat

Reciprocal of the absolute risk reduction; the number of patients who must be treated for one additional favorable outcome.