2.1.1 Cellular Neuropathy

Question 1

What is this an image of and what are the associated characteristics?

Answer 1

Bunina Body

Motor Neuron Disease (possibly ALS)

Question 2

What is this an image of and what are the characteristics?

Answer 2

Microglia

normally at rest, resident CNS macrophages, elongation into rod cells and cluster around dying neurons

Question 3

What is this an image of and what are the associated characteristics?

Answer 3

• Granulovacuolar Degeneration
• Subtle inclusions surrounded by clear vacuole
• Seen in aging brains

Question 4

What are these images of?

Answer 4

Rosenthal Fibers

Top - Pilocytic astrocytoma

Bottom - Alexander’s Disease

process inclusions, made of heat shock proteins, seen in slow tumors (chronic gliosis), Alexander’s disease

• Material from astrocytic processes forming random pattern
• Chronic CNS irritation

Question 5

What is this an image of?

Answer 5

Oligodendroglioma

Question 6

What is this an image of?

Answer 6

Corpora amylacea

foot processes, heat shock proteins, normal with age

Question 7

What is this an image of?

Answer 7

Arachnoidal/Meningothelial cells

make up the arachnoid meningeal layer, form whorls and are prone to form tumors

Question 8

In neuronal injury what is degeneration?

Answer 8

Apoptosis

Question 9

What is this an image of and what are the associated characteristics?

Answer 9

-Hirano Bodies

• Pale pink or eosinophilic inclusions in cytoplasm
• Signify nonspecific neurodegenerative changes

Question 10

What is this an image of and what are the associated characteristics?

Answer 10

• Neurofibrillary Tangles
• Basophilic coned structures
• Hallmark of Alzheimer’s Disease

Question 11

What is gliosis?

Answer 11

excessive astrocytes (AKA astrocytosis), indicator of injury

Question 12

What are these two images of?

Answer 12

Pigmentation in Neurons

Left - lipofuscin

Right - Neuromelanin

Question 13

What is this an image of and what are the characteristics?

Answer 13

• Viral Inclusions (Nergi Body)
• Signify infection

Question 14

What happens to neurons in response to acute injury?

Answer 14

• Nissl dissolution
• Shrunken cells
• Cellular atrophy
• Nuclear pyknosis

Neurons will lose blue hue and appear red

Question 15

What is the role of astrocytes?

Answer 15

• Small, oval nuclei with star-like processes
• Supportive stroma of CNS, aid in BBB
• Contain Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) Intermediate filament

Question 16

What is this an image of?

Answer 16

Acute Neuronal Injury

“Red Neurons”

Question 17

In neuronal injury what is an axonal reaction?

Answer 17

Injury to axon leads to cell body swelling

Central chromatolysis (due to Nissl displacement)

Question 18

What is this an image of?

Answer 18

Ependyoma

Tumor of ependymal cells

Question 19

What is this an image of?

Answer 19

Meningothelial Cell “Whorls”

Question 20

What is this an image of and what are the characteristics?

Answer 20

Ependymal cell injury

Leads to loss, granulations, and can be caused by infectious injury (CMV)

Question 21

What happens when there is injury to an oligodendrocyte?

Answer 21

-Injury = myelin loss or abnormal myelin

Question 22

What is this an image of?

Answer 22

Astrocytosis

Question 23

What is this an image of?

Answer 23

Gemistocystic Astrocytes

-Astrocytes with rounded cytoplasm instead of star-shape

Question 24

What is this an image of and what are the characteristics?

Answer 24

Ependymal cells

-Ciliated columnar cells lining the ventricles

Question 25

What are the types of injuries that can affect neurons?

Answer 25

- Anoxia - Ischemia - Hypoglycemia

Question 26

What is this an image of and what are the characteristics?

Answer 26

Oligodendrocyte Nuclear Inclusion ## Footnote -Viral Disease = oligodendrocyte inclusions JC Virus infects, demyelination, Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy

Question 27

Choroid plexus is responsible for?

Answer 27

CSF production

Question 28

What is this an image of?

Answer 28

Achromatic neuron

Question 29

What happens to neurons as they age?

Answer 29

Accumulate lipofuscin and neuromelanin

Question 30

What is this an image of and what are the associated characteristics?

Answer 30

**-Lewy Bodies** - Pink, fuzzy, circular inclusions surrounded by pink halo - Misfolded proteins, typically found in Parkinson’s

Question 31

In neuronal injury what is atrophy?

Answer 31

Retraction of cell body, nuclear pyknosis

Question 32

What is this an image of?

Answer 32

Normal oligodendrocytes

Question 33

What are these images of?

Answer 33

Left - choroid plexus (highly vascularized with ependymal lining) RIght - papilloma associated with choroid plexus

Question 34

What is this an image of?

Answer 34

Alzheimer Type II Cells - Clear cells w/o associated cytoplasm - Associated w/ metabolic encephalopathy ↑ ammonia

Question 35

What is Transsynaptic degeneration?

Answer 35

Atrophy of nerve cells due to loss of afferent input

Question 36

What is Wallerian degeneration?

Answer 36

Degeneration of nerve fibers distal to injury

Question 37

Neurons carry two unique principles, what are they?

Answer 37

Selective Vulnerability Post-mitotic cells - no regeneration

Question 38

What is the role of oligodendrocytes?

Answer 38

-Make and maintain myelin within the CNS