1
PATHOLOGY EXAM 1 LATEST QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS (100% CORRECT ANSWERS)
pathology Answer: scientific study of changes in bodily structure and function that occur as a
result of disease
disease Answer: a condition resulting from anatomical distortion (structure) or physiologic
dysfunction (function) - distinct and measurable
4 goals of pathology Answer: to describe the lesion, to discover the etiology, to understand the
pathogenesis, to explain the pathophysiology
lesion Answer: anatomical abnormality produced by a disease
etiology Answer: the cause of a disease
pathogenesis Answer: the natural history of a disease and how a disease develops
pathophysiology Answer: describes the manner in which incorrect function due to disease is
expressed
categories of disease Answer: environmental injuries, genetic defects, multifactorial disease
environmental injury Answer: physical trauma, toxic chemicals, etc
monogenic/polygenic Answer: disease caused by a single gene/ multiple genes
multifactorial disease Answer: disease caused by interactions of several factors (ex. smoking,
lung cancer)
acute/chronic Answer: rapid, short period of time/ slow, persists for a long time
timeline of disease Answer: onset, latent/incubation period, prodromal period, exacerbation,
consequence (remission/recurrence, recovery, complications, sequelae)
onset Answer: beginning of disease
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latent period Answer: no symptoms, no apparent problems (aka. subclinical)
incubation period Answer: latent period of infectious disease
prodromal period Answer: minor clinical symptoms are present (ex. mild fever)
exacerbation Answer: symptoms become intense
remission --> recurrence Answer: when symptoms of a disease are reduced/disappear but then
reappear
recovery Answer: full remission, no recurrence of symptoms
complications Answer: other conditions caused by a disease (ex. diabetes --> glaucoma, skin
burn --> bacterial infection)
sequalae Answer: a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease (ex. COVID -->
fatigue)
idiopathic Answer: etiology is unknown
iatrogenic Answer: disease is a byproduct of medical diagnosis or treatment (ex.
chemotherapy --> hair loss)
nosocomial Answer: especially an infection originating from a hospital (ex. staphylococcus in
hospital --> pneumonia)
symptoms (sx) Answer: complaints reported by the patient (or someone else on behalf of the
patient) <-- subjective
signs (s) Answer: observations by an examiner (PT, physician, nurse, etc), lab data, imaging,
EKG, etc <-- objective
epidemiology Answer: discipline of medicine that studies the broad behavior of a disease in
large populations
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, 3
incidence Answer: the number of new cases in a specific population during a particular time
period
incidence proportion Answer: number of new cases / total population
prevalence Answer: number of people with a certain disease in a specific population at or
during a particular time period
morbidity Answer: number of people with a certain disease in a specific population (can be
expressed as incidence or prevalence)
mortality Answer: number of people dying from a certain disease in a specific population in a
particular period of time
risk factors Answer: factors that may increase likelihood of developing a disease
prognosis Answer: probability of recovery (in clinical settings, a forecast of the probable
course and outcome of a disease)
inflammation Answer: cellular reaction to injury, prevents further damage, initiates the
healing process
cell cycle Answer: mitosis (one parent cell to two daughter cells) --> interphase cycle (growth,
DNA replication) - most of the time is spent in interphase
parenchymal Answer: normal functional cells/tissue
stem cell Answer: an unspecialized, undifferentiated cell, no specific function yet - self-
renewable (can divide over and over to produce new stem cells), can change into a specialized
cell
labile tissues Answer: short lifecycle, abundant stem cells, high continuous regeneration
activity (ex. bone marrow, epidermis, GI epithelium, bronchial epithelium)
stable tissues Answer: long lifecycle, abundant stem cells, high regenerative activity with
injury (ex. liver, kidney) - default state of stem cells = inactive
© 2025 All rights reserved
PATHOLOGY EXAM 1 LATEST QUESTIONS WITH
ANSWERS (100% CORRECT ANSWERS)
pathology Answer: scientific study of changes in bodily structure and function that occur as a
result of disease
disease Answer: a condition resulting from anatomical distortion (structure) or physiologic
dysfunction (function) - distinct and measurable
4 goals of pathology Answer: to describe the lesion, to discover the etiology, to understand the
pathogenesis, to explain the pathophysiology
lesion Answer: anatomical abnormality produced by a disease
etiology Answer: the cause of a disease
pathogenesis Answer: the natural history of a disease and how a disease develops
pathophysiology Answer: describes the manner in which incorrect function due to disease is
expressed
categories of disease Answer: environmental injuries, genetic defects, multifactorial disease
environmental injury Answer: physical trauma, toxic chemicals, etc
monogenic/polygenic Answer: disease caused by a single gene/ multiple genes
multifactorial disease Answer: disease caused by interactions of several factors (ex. smoking,
lung cancer)
acute/chronic Answer: rapid, short period of time/ slow, persists for a long time
timeline of disease Answer: onset, latent/incubation period, prodromal period, exacerbation,
consequence (remission/recurrence, recovery, complications, sequelae)
onset Answer: beginning of disease
© 2025 All rights reserved
,2
latent period Answer: no symptoms, no apparent problems (aka. subclinical)
incubation period Answer: latent period of infectious disease
prodromal period Answer: minor clinical symptoms are present (ex. mild fever)
exacerbation Answer: symptoms become intense
remission --> recurrence Answer: when symptoms of a disease are reduced/disappear but then
reappear
recovery Answer: full remission, no recurrence of symptoms
complications Answer: other conditions caused by a disease (ex. diabetes --> glaucoma, skin
burn --> bacterial infection)
sequalae Answer: a condition that is the consequence of a previous disease (ex. COVID -->
fatigue)
idiopathic Answer: etiology is unknown
iatrogenic Answer: disease is a byproduct of medical diagnosis or treatment (ex.
chemotherapy --> hair loss)
nosocomial Answer: especially an infection originating from a hospital (ex. staphylococcus in
hospital --> pneumonia)
symptoms (sx) Answer: complaints reported by the patient (or someone else on behalf of the
patient) <-- subjective
signs (s) Answer: observations by an examiner (PT, physician, nurse, etc), lab data, imaging,
EKG, etc <-- objective
epidemiology Answer: discipline of medicine that studies the broad behavior of a disease in
large populations
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 3
incidence Answer: the number of new cases in a specific population during a particular time
period
incidence proportion Answer: number of new cases / total population
prevalence Answer: number of people with a certain disease in a specific population at or
during a particular time period
morbidity Answer: number of people with a certain disease in a specific population (can be
expressed as incidence or prevalence)
mortality Answer: number of people dying from a certain disease in a specific population in a
particular period of time
risk factors Answer: factors that may increase likelihood of developing a disease
prognosis Answer: probability of recovery (in clinical settings, a forecast of the probable
course and outcome of a disease)
inflammation Answer: cellular reaction to injury, prevents further damage, initiates the
healing process
cell cycle Answer: mitosis (one parent cell to two daughter cells) --> interphase cycle (growth,
DNA replication) - most of the time is spent in interphase
parenchymal Answer: normal functional cells/tissue
stem cell Answer: an unspecialized, undifferentiated cell, no specific function yet - self-
renewable (can divide over and over to produce new stem cells), can change into a specialized
cell
labile tissues Answer: short lifecycle, abundant stem cells, high continuous regeneration
activity (ex. bone marrow, epidermis, GI epithelium, bronchial epithelium)
stable tissues Answer: long lifecycle, abundant stem cells, high regenerative activity with
injury (ex. liver, kidney) - default state of stem cells = inactive
© 2025 All rights reserved
