NUR 301 PATHOPHYSIOLOGY EXAM 1 2026/2027 – STUDY GUIDE, PRACTICE
QUESTIONS & COMPREHENSIVE EXAM REVIEW
what is most important for cellular survival? - ANS ✔✔oxygen
what is homeostasis? - ANS ✔✔the ability to maintain a relatively stable internal environment
what other factors are important for cellular survival (besides O2)? - ANS ✔✔- nutrients
- H2O
- temperature
- acid/base balance
what is atrophy? - ANS ✔✔when cell shrinks in size
at what sites in the body does atrophy occur? - ANS ✔✔skeletal muscle, heart, brain, sex organs
what is hypertrophy? - ANS ✔✔when cell increases in size
at what sites in the body does hypertrophy often occur? - ANS ✔✔the heart and kidneys
what is hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔an increase in the number of cells
what is an example of good hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔in the liver
- liver regeneration
what is an example of bad hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔in the prostate
what are the causes of atrophy? - ANS ✔✔-disuse
- denervation
- decreased hormones
- malnutrition
- decreased blood flow
what does atrophy result in? - ANS ✔✔- decrease in O2 consumption
- decreased protein synthesis
- increased catabolism
what is a main cause for hypertrophy? - ANS ✔✔increased muscle work
- example: hypertension
what are the normal causes of hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔- compensation (liver)
- hormones (pregnancy)
what are the abnormal causes of hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔- transformation into malignant cells
- dysplastic cells (deranged growth)
,what is metaplasia? - ANS ✔✔the conversion of cells back to a simpler type of the same cell
- less specialized
why does metaplasia occur? - ANS ✔✔it is a process to help cells divide easier for survival
is metaplasia reversible? - ANS ✔✔yes, if the stressor is removed
- not all the cells will revert back to normal
what is dysplasia? - ANS ✔✔atypical hyperplasia, or deranged cell growth
what is dysplasia a precursor for? - ANS ✔✔malignancy
if two people are exposed to the same stimuli/stressor, will their cells react the same way? - ANS ✔✔no,
it depends on a variety of factors
what are some factors that affect the extent of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔- intensity/duration of stressor
- cell type
- person with comorbidities
what is hypoxia? - ANS ✔✔lack of oxygen
what is hypoxemia? - ANS ✔✔low oxygen in the blood
what is ischemia? - ANS ✔✔lack of blood flow
what are the causes of hypoxia? - ANS ✔✔- decreased O2 in the air
- decreased hemoglobin
- decreased RBCs
- respiratory/cardiac disease
- cells unable to use ATP
- ischemia
is chronic hypoxia or acute hypoxia better? - ANS ✔✔chronic hypoxia
why is the Na/K pump important? - ANS ✔✔it is important in fluid regulation and electrolyte balance
what does the Na/K pump need in order to function? - ANS ✔✔ATP
what happens if the Na/K pump does not have ATP? - ANS ✔✔K+ will continually leave the cell and Na+
will continually enter the cell
why is it bad if there is no ATP for the Na/K pump? - ANS ✔✔because water follows Na+, so the cell will
swell. cell function will decrease and membrane permeability will increase
what happens to membrane permeability when ATP is absent from the Na/K pump? - ANS ✔✔it will
increase membrane permeability and the cell will be more vulnerable
, why can anaerobic metabolism not be sustained for long periods of time? - ANS ✔✔because lactic acid
will build up which can harm internal organs
what is the pathway of cell injury due to hypoxia? - ANS ✔✔hypoxia --> decreased ATP--> anaerobic
metabolism (pH and lactic acid) OR Na/K pump on (cell swells)
what are the other types of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔- chemical injury
- infection
- genetic
- nutrition
- physical agents
** hypoxia leads to all of these^**
what is the most common manifestation of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔water
what are the other manifestations of cell injury besides water? - ANS ✔✔- decrease in ATP
- failed Na/K pump
- vacuoles form
what are the signs and symptoms of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔- fatigue
- malaise (bleh feeling)
- loss of appetite
- fever
- pain
- elevated WBC count and other specific enzymes
what is apoptosis? - ANS ✔✔programmed cell death
what effect does aging have on apoptosis? - ANS ✔✔cells become less efficient as they age, and more
vulnerable to dysplasia and cancer
what is necrosis? - ANS ✔✔local and small cell death that goes past the point of no return
what are the four types of necrosis talked about in class? - ANS ✔✔- coagulative
- liquefactive
- caseous
- fat
what is the most common type of necrosis? - ANS ✔✔coagulative
what is coagulative necrosis? - ANS ✔✔- cell damage from ischemia.
- Cells die but infrastructure remains intact, caused by hypoxic injury
appearance: tissue is firm and swollen (like cooked egg whites)
example: heart attack
What is liquefactive necrosis? - ANS ✔✔- Occurs in tissues rich in fluid and lipoid substances, and poor in
proteins.
QUESTIONS & COMPREHENSIVE EXAM REVIEW
what is most important for cellular survival? - ANS ✔✔oxygen
what is homeostasis? - ANS ✔✔the ability to maintain a relatively stable internal environment
what other factors are important for cellular survival (besides O2)? - ANS ✔✔- nutrients
- H2O
- temperature
- acid/base balance
what is atrophy? - ANS ✔✔when cell shrinks in size
at what sites in the body does atrophy occur? - ANS ✔✔skeletal muscle, heart, brain, sex organs
what is hypertrophy? - ANS ✔✔when cell increases in size
at what sites in the body does hypertrophy often occur? - ANS ✔✔the heart and kidneys
what is hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔an increase in the number of cells
what is an example of good hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔in the liver
- liver regeneration
what is an example of bad hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔in the prostate
what are the causes of atrophy? - ANS ✔✔-disuse
- denervation
- decreased hormones
- malnutrition
- decreased blood flow
what does atrophy result in? - ANS ✔✔- decrease in O2 consumption
- decreased protein synthesis
- increased catabolism
what is a main cause for hypertrophy? - ANS ✔✔increased muscle work
- example: hypertension
what are the normal causes of hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔- compensation (liver)
- hormones (pregnancy)
what are the abnormal causes of hyperplasia? - ANS ✔✔- transformation into malignant cells
- dysplastic cells (deranged growth)
,what is metaplasia? - ANS ✔✔the conversion of cells back to a simpler type of the same cell
- less specialized
why does metaplasia occur? - ANS ✔✔it is a process to help cells divide easier for survival
is metaplasia reversible? - ANS ✔✔yes, if the stressor is removed
- not all the cells will revert back to normal
what is dysplasia? - ANS ✔✔atypical hyperplasia, or deranged cell growth
what is dysplasia a precursor for? - ANS ✔✔malignancy
if two people are exposed to the same stimuli/stressor, will their cells react the same way? - ANS ✔✔no,
it depends on a variety of factors
what are some factors that affect the extent of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔- intensity/duration of stressor
- cell type
- person with comorbidities
what is hypoxia? - ANS ✔✔lack of oxygen
what is hypoxemia? - ANS ✔✔low oxygen in the blood
what is ischemia? - ANS ✔✔lack of blood flow
what are the causes of hypoxia? - ANS ✔✔- decreased O2 in the air
- decreased hemoglobin
- decreased RBCs
- respiratory/cardiac disease
- cells unable to use ATP
- ischemia
is chronic hypoxia or acute hypoxia better? - ANS ✔✔chronic hypoxia
why is the Na/K pump important? - ANS ✔✔it is important in fluid regulation and electrolyte balance
what does the Na/K pump need in order to function? - ANS ✔✔ATP
what happens if the Na/K pump does not have ATP? - ANS ✔✔K+ will continually leave the cell and Na+
will continually enter the cell
why is it bad if there is no ATP for the Na/K pump? - ANS ✔✔because water follows Na+, so the cell will
swell. cell function will decrease and membrane permeability will increase
what happens to membrane permeability when ATP is absent from the Na/K pump? - ANS ✔✔it will
increase membrane permeability and the cell will be more vulnerable
, why can anaerobic metabolism not be sustained for long periods of time? - ANS ✔✔because lactic acid
will build up which can harm internal organs
what is the pathway of cell injury due to hypoxia? - ANS ✔✔hypoxia --> decreased ATP--> anaerobic
metabolism (pH and lactic acid) OR Na/K pump on (cell swells)
what are the other types of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔- chemical injury
- infection
- genetic
- nutrition
- physical agents
** hypoxia leads to all of these^**
what is the most common manifestation of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔water
what are the other manifestations of cell injury besides water? - ANS ✔✔- decrease in ATP
- failed Na/K pump
- vacuoles form
what are the signs and symptoms of cell injury? - ANS ✔✔- fatigue
- malaise (bleh feeling)
- loss of appetite
- fever
- pain
- elevated WBC count and other specific enzymes
what is apoptosis? - ANS ✔✔programmed cell death
what effect does aging have on apoptosis? - ANS ✔✔cells become less efficient as they age, and more
vulnerable to dysplasia and cancer
what is necrosis? - ANS ✔✔local and small cell death that goes past the point of no return
what are the four types of necrosis talked about in class? - ANS ✔✔- coagulative
- liquefactive
- caseous
- fat
what is the most common type of necrosis? - ANS ✔✔coagulative
what is coagulative necrosis? - ANS ✔✔- cell damage from ischemia.
- Cells die but infrastructure remains intact, caused by hypoxic injury
appearance: tissue is firm and swollen (like cooked egg whites)
example: heart attack
What is liquefactive necrosis? - ANS ✔✔- Occurs in tissues rich in fluid and lipoid substances, and poor in
proteins.
