Path - Anatomy, Inflam and Immu - Exam 2 Flashcards
(145 cards)
Describe possible outcomes for a cell subjected to stress - there are 3
- Adaption and improved funtion
- Reduced health followed by recovery to the same level
- With persistent stress, cell injury and/or death
Give an example of a physical, environmental, genetic and immune function stimuli that may cause cellular injury
Physical - mechanical/heat
Env. - bacterial
Genetic - inherited
Immune function - auto-immune
What is the connection between pathogenesis and morphology?
Pathogenesis causes changes in morphology
Describe features commonly found in injured cells - reversible
Swelling, cytoplasmic inclusions, accumulations and pigments, steatosis
Describe features commonly found in injured cells - irreversible
Abnormal mitochondria, irregular cell contours, eosinophilia and nuclear deformities
How can swelling of the cell occur, and what does it look like?
Can occur through failure of a membrane pump, or could be adaptive - this is called membrane blebbing and can occur in hypoxia to increase surface area, facilitating uptake of oxygen.
Swelling in toxic injury: cell looses organised structure, ribosomes detach and lipid accumulates.
Hydropic swelling makes a cell look pale and washed out
Excess liquid in cell dilates the cell substructure. ER is completely disrupted
What are inclusions?
Something that’s not usually present, and is described according to staining properties e.g. a Hyaline inclusion would be glassy and pink in appearance.
An example of an inclusion is a Mallory body, often found in alcoholic livers.
However, they can also be viral
- eosinophilic, basophilic or amphiphilic
What are accumulations?
A build up of a product of the body, which should not be there.
These can be intracellular or extracellular.
Intracellular: glycogen accumulates in the lysosome in alpha-gluconidase deficiency
Extracellular: amyloid can get deposited in the myocardium, which will eventually interfere with vascular supply
What are pigments?
Coloured substances, which can be endogenous or exogenous
Endogenous - normally present, abnormally accumulated
Exogenous: not normally present
endogenous = normally present but abnormally accumulated. Haemachromatosis - too much haemosiderin (stored iron) in liver cells
Exogenous”
- ferruginous bodies (asbestos fibbers coated in iron)
Describe Steatosis, and where it is particularly relevant
Steatosis - steahepatitis - cirrhosis - liver failure
Steatosis is the abnormal accumulation of lipid.
Organs may appear enlarged and yellow in appearance, with abnormally large lipid droplets displaying mitochondria clustered around them.
Benign in isolation, but it does sensitize cells to inflammation, which can lead to hepatitis, then cirrhosis, then fatal liver failure
Why might mitochondria appearance change, and what could this change look like?
Mitochondria can change in response to Anoxia - absence of oxygen
They become greatly swollen and lose their parallel arrays of cistaes
Why would Eosinophilia be seen in irreversible cell injury?
Denatured proteins in the cytoplasm of cells bind eosin, and less RNA production leads to loss of basophilia
What is a nuclear abnormality we might see in irreversible cell injury?
Multinucleation - nuclei divide without cell pulling them apart
What could happen to cell membranes and cell staining in irreversible cell injury?
- Irregular contours
- Eosinophillia as a result of released protein into the cell
Define necrosis
The spectrum of morphological changes following cell death or tissue death. Always a pathological process
When do you see microscopic changes in cells undergoing necrosis, and what is the sequence of nuclear changes you will see?
-4-12 hours
- Nucleus will go from normal, to Pyknosis as a result of shrinkage, darkening and condensation (black dot). From there, to Karyorrhexis, which is breakdown of the nucleus. This is followed by Karyolysis, where the nucleus is gone
- Throughout this process, the cell will become more and more eosinophilic
What are some other microscopic changes you will see in necrotic tissue?
Cytoplasmic vacuolation
Eosinophilia
Cell membrane blebbing/rupture
Describe coagulative necrosis
- Most common type
- Usually follows ischaemia, which causes an infarct (localised necrotic area). Tissue is softer than normal, and either more pale (pale infarct) or haemorrhagic (red). Over time, a haemorrhagic border will develop around a pale infarct.
- The cellular architecture is preserved, and cell outline remains for days/weeks. –There is a delayed breakdown of cells, and an inflammatory response.
- Histologically you might see pink cytoplasms still in the shape of cells, missing nuclei.
Describe colliquative necrosis
- The necrotic cell releases powerful hydrolytic enzymes, as well as inflammatory exudate - particularly neutrophils. This leads to liquefaction of the entire cells. Later on, there is an inflammatory reaction and liquid material is removed by macrophages, leaving a cystic space, often with a fibrous peripheral border.
- Cellular architecture almost completely disintegrates
- Occurs in two main settings: the brain, or an abscess cavity in the lung
Describe Caseous necrosis
-Almost exclusively in TB patients
-Has a white, cheesy appearance
Microscopically is an amorphous, granular debris, lacking in cell detail and outline. H&E sections will show eosinophilia.
-Usually have granulomatous adjacent inflammatory reactions i.e. giant cells and macrophages everywhere
-Histological sections will show the absence of cell outlines and tissue destruction
What is the difference between wet, gas and dry gangrene?
- Wet gangrene is necrosis with superadded putrefaction, usually due to gram negative bacteria
- Gas gangrene is usually due to gram-positive bacteria found in soil, like Clostridium species. It causes crepitant swelling
- Dry gangrene is essentially mummification - tissue is dry and black. Often a result of coagulative necrosis
What does fat necrosis look like from a macroscopic perspective?
Chalky deposits, as a result of released fatty acids reacting with calcium
What are the outcomes of necrosis dependent on?
The tissue involved: susceptibility to injurious stimuli and ability to regenerate, extent of necrosis, and time elapsed.
Subsequent fibrosis is often seen
What is autolysis?
Self-digestion of tissue AFTER DEATH, not technically necrosis