Patho_onco Flashcards
What is a Lipoma?
A soft, fatty lump that grows slowly under the skin.
What is a Fibroma?
A tumor made up of fibrous or connective tissue; can appear in various organs.
What is an Adenoma?
A benign tumor of glandular tissue, often found in glands like the thyroid, pituitary, or adrenal.
What is a Hemangioma?
A benign tumor formed from blood vessels; often seen in infants as a red birthmark.
What is a Neuroma?
A tumor composed of nerve tissue; may cause pain or discomfort, often found in peripheral nerves.
What is a Chondroma?
A benign tumor that develops in cartilage, commonly found in the bones.
What is an Osteoma?
A slow-growing bone tumor that can occur on the skull or facial bones.
What is a Meningioma?
A tumor that forms in the protective membranes of the brain; usually benign but may cause pressure effects.
What are Cysts?
Fluid-filled sacs that can occur in various tissues, such as sebaceous cysts or ovarian cysts.
What is a Myoma?
A benign tumor of muscle tissue, commonly found in the uterus.
What is Anaplasia?
Loss of cell differentiation and an indication of malignancy. Cells appear primitive and undifferentiated.
Commonly seen in aggressive cancers, like anaplastic carcinoma of the thyroid. Anaplastic features suggest a poor prognosis as cells have lost normal function.
What does Dysplasia refer to?
Abnormal growth or development of cells within a tissue, but cells are not yet malignant.
Cervical dysplasia (precancerous changes in the cervix), often detected by a Pap smear, is graded as mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the degree of cellular abnormality.
Define Metaplasia.
Reversible transformation of one differentiated cell type into another differentiated cell type.
Barrett’s esophagus: squamous cells in the esophagus transform into columnar cells due to chronic acid exposure (GERD). Bronchial metaplasia occurs when normal ciliated columnar epithelium changes to squamous cells in response to smoking or chronic irritation.
What is Hyperplasia?
Increase in the number of normal cells within a tissue or organ, often as a response to a stimulus.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH): enlargement of the prostate gland due to increased cell growth, common in older men.
Explain Hypertrophy.
Increase in cell size rather than cell number, typically in response to increased demand or stress.
Cardiac hypertrophy: heart muscle cells enlarge in response to high blood pressure to increase pumping capacity. Skeletal muscle hypertrophy: muscle cells increase in size due to strength training.
What does Neoplasia mean?
New, uncontrolled growth of cells that can be benign or malignant (tumors).
Lipoma: a benign fatty tumor, typically non-cancerous. Carcinoma: a malignant tumor arising from epithelial cells, such as in lung or breast cancer.
What are the characteristics of Anaplasia?
Cells are irregularly shaped, with high nuclear-to-cytoplasmic ratios, abnormal mitoses, and hyperchromatic nuclei.
What are the characteristics of Dysplasia?
Cells show variation in size, shape, and organization; nuclear atypia (irregular nuclei) is common.
What happens to cells during Metaplasia?
Cells are replaced by a different cell type that is better suited to an abnormal environment; typically reversible if stimulus is removed.
How do cells appear in Hyperplasia?
Cells appear normal but are more numerous; can sometimes lead to dysplasia if uncontrolled.
Describe the structural changes in cells due to Hypertrophy.
Cells enlarge but remain structurally normal; does not involve cell division.
True or False: Neoplasia can only result in malignant tumors.
False.
What are the two types of genes in our body related to cancer?
Proto-oncogenes and Tumor Suppressor Genes
These genes play crucial roles in cell growth and division.
What happens when Proto-oncogenes convert into Oncogenes?
A problem occurs leading to uncontrolled cell growth
This conversion can lead to cancer development.