WGU D236 PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM PREP
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. A patient who has smoked for 30 years shows a change in the bronchial lining where
ciliated columnar epithelium is replaced by stratified squamous epithelium. Which cellular
adaptation is this?
A. Atrophy
B. Metaplasia
C. Hypertrophy
D. Dysplasia
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Metaplasia is the reversible replacement of one mature cell type
by another, often as a response to chronic irritation like smoking.
2. Which process describes programmed cell death that does not typically trigger an
inflammatory response?
A. Apoptosis
,B. Necrosis
C. Autophagy
D. Oncosis
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Apoptosis is a regulated, energy-dependent process of cell self-
destruction that avoids the leakage of cellular contents and subsequent inflammation.
3. A 55-year-old male with untreated hypertension shows increased left ventricular wall
thickness on an echocardiogram. This is an example of:
A. Physiologic Hyperplasia
B. Pathologic Hypertrophy
C. Pathologic Hyperplasia
D. Physiologic Hypertrophy
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Pathologic hypertrophy occurs in the heart in response to
chronic hemodynamic overload, such as hypertension, leading to increased cell size.
4. Which mechanism is primarily responsible for the cellular swelling seen in hypoxic injury?
A. Increased ATP production
B. Decreased intracellular sodium levels
, C. Increased protein synthesis
D. Failure of the Na+/K+ ATPase pump
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Hypoxia leads to ATP depletion, causing the failure of the
sodium-potassium pump, which results in sodium (and water) entering the cell, causing
swelling.
5. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause cellular damage primarily through which mechanism?
A. Lipid peroxidation of membranes
B. Decreasing intracellular calcium
C. Inhibition of lactic acid production
D. Promoting DNA repair
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: ROS cause damage via lipid peroxidation, protein modification,
and DNA damage, leading to membrane instability and cell death.
6. Which genetic disorder is characterized by a 45, X karyotype and results in short stature
and webbing of the neck?
A. Turner Syndrome
B. Down Syndrome
C. Klinefelter Syndrome
COMPREHENSIVE EXAM PREP
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. A patient who has smoked for 30 years shows a change in the bronchial lining where
ciliated columnar epithelium is replaced by stratified squamous epithelium. Which cellular
adaptation is this?
A. Atrophy
B. Metaplasia
C. Hypertrophy
D. Dysplasia
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Metaplasia is the reversible replacement of one mature cell type
by another, often as a response to chronic irritation like smoking.
2. Which process describes programmed cell death that does not typically trigger an
inflammatory response?
A. Apoptosis
,B. Necrosis
C. Autophagy
D. Oncosis
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Apoptosis is a regulated, energy-dependent process of cell self-
destruction that avoids the leakage of cellular contents and subsequent inflammation.
3. A 55-year-old male with untreated hypertension shows increased left ventricular wall
thickness on an echocardiogram. This is an example of:
A. Physiologic Hyperplasia
B. Pathologic Hypertrophy
C. Pathologic Hyperplasia
D. Physiologic Hypertrophy
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: Pathologic hypertrophy occurs in the heart in response to
chronic hemodynamic overload, such as hypertension, leading to increased cell size.
4. Which mechanism is primarily responsible for the cellular swelling seen in hypoxic injury?
A. Increased ATP production
B. Decreased intracellular sodium levels
, C. Increased protein synthesis
D. Failure of the Na+/K+ ATPase pump
Answer: D
Conceptual Explanation: Hypoxia leads to ATP depletion, causing the failure of the
sodium-potassium pump, which results in sodium (and water) entering the cell, causing
swelling.
5. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause cellular damage primarily through which mechanism?
A. Lipid peroxidation of membranes
B. Decreasing intracellular calcium
C. Inhibition of lactic acid production
D. Promoting DNA repair
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: ROS cause damage via lipid peroxidation, protein modification,
and DNA damage, leading to membrane instability and cell death.
6. Which genetic disorder is characterized by a 45, X karyotype and results in short stature
and webbing of the neck?
A. Turner Syndrome
B. Down Syndrome
C. Klinefelter Syndrome
