PATHOLOGY (CH. 1-4) STUDY GUIDE
EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS
Compare and contrast clinical and anatomic pathology - Answer-Clinical pathology is
the study of the functional aspect of disease and includes measurements taken on
tissue, blood, or urine (e.g., blood glucose). Anatomic pathology is the study of
structural changes, which can be assessed postmortem (autopsy) or on living tissue
taken from a patient (biopsy).
In screening a population for a lethal disease, what factors affect the type of test that
you will choose? Consider sensitivity, specificity, prevalence, and predictive value. -
Answer-In the case of a lethal disease, missing the disease in a person might cause
grave consequences; therefore, a test with high sensitivity is warranted. Such a test
would guarantee that no person with the disease would be missed. The sensitive test
can then be followed up with a specific test to distinguish patients with a false positive
result from a true positive result. Indeed, any false diagnosis of a lethal disease needs
to be avoided.
In populations where the prevalence of a disease is high, a positive result is more likely
to be truly positive, regardless of how good the test is. Therefore, by using a sensitive
test only in the part of the population where we suspect the disease, we can increase
the positive predictive value of the test. Of course, the sensitive test should be followed
by a specific test to confirm the finding.
Discuss health and sickness versus normal and abnormal in the context of true positive,
false positive, true negative, and false negative - Answer-Health is the absence of
disease, while sickness is its presence. Tests performed to detect the disease are said
to be positive if the result is abnormal (suggesting presence of disease) and negative if
the result is normal (suggesting the absence of disease). In patients where the test is
positive and the disease is present, the result is said to be a "true positive." In cases
where the test is positive and the disease is absent, the result is said to be a "false
positive." Conversely, in the absence of disease (the patient is healthy), a negative
result is a "true negative." Finally, in a patient with the disease, a negative test result is
said to be a "false negative."
True or false: a functional disorder can lead to a structural change - Answer-true
True or False: acute disease typically begins with manifestations that are difficult to
interpret - Answer-false: chronic disease typically begins with manifestations that are
difficult to interpret
what is the scientific name for a period of vague, early manifestations that herald the
coming of more pronounced disease? - Answer-Prodromal period
,What is the name for a short period of increased intensity of disease? - Answer-
exacerbation
what is the scientific name for the cause of a disease - Answer-etiology
what is the scientific name for a structural abnormality of disease - Answer-lesion
True or False: the incidence of a disease is the number of new cases of a particular
disease that appear in a year - Answer-True
True or False: a patients ability to read ad comprehend prescription- drug information is
a determinant of health - Answer-true
Is an abnormality observed by a nurse a sign or symptom? - Answer-sign
True or false: a biopsy is an examination of a tissue specimen to determine the cause of
death - Answer-False: a biopsy is an examination of a living tissue
What is the name for a distinctive collection of symptoms, signs and data? - Answer-
syndrome
True or False: all sick patients will have at least one abnormal test - Answer-false
What percentage of the test results in healthy people fall within the mean plus and
minus two standard deviations - Answer-95%
The ability of a test to be positive int he presence of disease is - Answer-sensitivity
True or false: the best testing strategy is to start with highly sensitive tests and follow
with highly specific ones - Answer-True
True or False: a multipotent stem cell has the ability to produce any kind of tissue -
Answer-False
Which tissue is made of labile cells - Answer-bone marrow
in what ways can cells be injured - Answer-inadequate oxygen, physical or chemical
agents, ionizing radiation, toxins, microbes, inflammation and immune reactions,
nutritional imbalance, genetic and metabolic defects, and aging
Which of the following is derived from the endoderm? - Answer-pancreas
___________ Necrosis is characterized by the ghostly outline of cells that have died in
place, their architecture preserved - Answer-Coagulative
, True or false: Lipofuscin is the "wear and tear" pigment - Answer-true
Which of the following cells is the principal inflammatory cell in a parasitic infection -
Answer-eosinophil
True or False: Hormones are molecules released into the blood stream and act on
nearby cells - Answer-false
Which of the following characterize chronic inflammation - Answer-an abundance of
lymphocytes and macrophages, few or no neutrophils, attempted regeneration of
destroyed cells, scarring, and rich supply of blood vessels
Copious amounts of watery fluid, low in protein, are seen in - Answer-serous
inflammation
True or false: Multinucleated giant cells are found in TB - Answer-True
True or false: regeneration is the complete, or nearly, complete, restoration or normal
anatomy and function by the regrowth of normal functional cells - Answer-true
A surgical incision heals by which of the following - Answer-first intention
Using examples from the text, discuss the relationship between chronic injury/stress
and the resulting adaptations - Answer-Atrophy is decreased size and function of a cell
due to decreased demand, the conservation of energy, or the lack of physiologic
support: denervation.
Hypertrophy, the increased size of a cell, is caused by demands that cannot be met by
an increased number of cells: heart hypertrophy due to aortic stenosis.
Hyperplasia is an increase in the number of cells, often due to hormonal stimulation or
chronic injury: breast hyperplasia during lactation.
Metaplasia is the change of one cell type into another caused by chronic injury:
replacement of respiratory columnar epithelial cells with squamous cells in a smoker.
Dysplasia is a premalignant change in cells often caused by chronic injury: cervical
dysplasia caused by human papillomavirus.
Compare and contrast apoptosis and necrosis - Answer-Necrosis is the pathological
death of cells due to injury; it usually occurs in a contiguous block of cells and is
characterized by a nucleus that shrinks and darkens, fragments, and disappears and a
cytoplasm that may also shrink or rupture. Apoptosis is programmed cell death, in which
the cell activates suicide genes; it is characterized by a shriveled cell that is ultimately
ingested and digested by scavenger cells.
Explain how the physics of fluid flow in blood vessels influences the migration of
leukocytes in the setting of inflammation. - Answer-Inflammation causes vasodilation of
blood vessels to occur, which causes blood along the walls to move more slowly.
Leukocytes tend to travel in this slow-moving fluid due to their heaviness. They are then
EXAM QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS
Compare and contrast clinical and anatomic pathology - Answer-Clinical pathology is
the study of the functional aspect of disease and includes measurements taken on
tissue, blood, or urine (e.g., blood glucose). Anatomic pathology is the study of
structural changes, which can be assessed postmortem (autopsy) or on living tissue
taken from a patient (biopsy).
In screening a population for a lethal disease, what factors affect the type of test that
you will choose? Consider sensitivity, specificity, prevalence, and predictive value. -
Answer-In the case of a lethal disease, missing the disease in a person might cause
grave consequences; therefore, a test with high sensitivity is warranted. Such a test
would guarantee that no person with the disease would be missed. The sensitive test
can then be followed up with a specific test to distinguish patients with a false positive
result from a true positive result. Indeed, any false diagnosis of a lethal disease needs
to be avoided.
In populations where the prevalence of a disease is high, a positive result is more likely
to be truly positive, regardless of how good the test is. Therefore, by using a sensitive
test only in the part of the population where we suspect the disease, we can increase
the positive predictive value of the test. Of course, the sensitive test should be followed
by a specific test to confirm the finding.
Discuss health and sickness versus normal and abnormal in the context of true positive,
false positive, true negative, and false negative - Answer-Health is the absence of
disease, while sickness is its presence. Tests performed to detect the disease are said
to be positive if the result is abnormal (suggesting presence of disease) and negative if
the result is normal (suggesting the absence of disease). In patients where the test is
positive and the disease is present, the result is said to be a "true positive." In cases
where the test is positive and the disease is absent, the result is said to be a "false
positive." Conversely, in the absence of disease (the patient is healthy), a negative
result is a "true negative." Finally, in a patient with the disease, a negative test result is
said to be a "false negative."
True or false: a functional disorder can lead to a structural change - Answer-true
True or False: acute disease typically begins with manifestations that are difficult to
interpret - Answer-false: chronic disease typically begins with manifestations that are
difficult to interpret
what is the scientific name for a period of vague, early manifestations that herald the
coming of more pronounced disease? - Answer-Prodromal period
,What is the name for a short period of increased intensity of disease? - Answer-
exacerbation
what is the scientific name for the cause of a disease - Answer-etiology
what is the scientific name for a structural abnormality of disease - Answer-lesion
True or False: the incidence of a disease is the number of new cases of a particular
disease that appear in a year - Answer-True
True or False: a patients ability to read ad comprehend prescription- drug information is
a determinant of health - Answer-true
Is an abnormality observed by a nurse a sign or symptom? - Answer-sign
True or false: a biopsy is an examination of a tissue specimen to determine the cause of
death - Answer-False: a biopsy is an examination of a living tissue
What is the name for a distinctive collection of symptoms, signs and data? - Answer-
syndrome
True or False: all sick patients will have at least one abnormal test - Answer-false
What percentage of the test results in healthy people fall within the mean plus and
minus two standard deviations - Answer-95%
The ability of a test to be positive int he presence of disease is - Answer-sensitivity
True or false: the best testing strategy is to start with highly sensitive tests and follow
with highly specific ones - Answer-True
True or False: a multipotent stem cell has the ability to produce any kind of tissue -
Answer-False
Which tissue is made of labile cells - Answer-bone marrow
in what ways can cells be injured - Answer-inadequate oxygen, physical or chemical
agents, ionizing radiation, toxins, microbes, inflammation and immune reactions,
nutritional imbalance, genetic and metabolic defects, and aging
Which of the following is derived from the endoderm? - Answer-pancreas
___________ Necrosis is characterized by the ghostly outline of cells that have died in
place, their architecture preserved - Answer-Coagulative
, True or false: Lipofuscin is the "wear and tear" pigment - Answer-true
Which of the following cells is the principal inflammatory cell in a parasitic infection -
Answer-eosinophil
True or False: Hormones are molecules released into the blood stream and act on
nearby cells - Answer-false
Which of the following characterize chronic inflammation - Answer-an abundance of
lymphocytes and macrophages, few or no neutrophils, attempted regeneration of
destroyed cells, scarring, and rich supply of blood vessels
Copious amounts of watery fluid, low in protein, are seen in - Answer-serous
inflammation
True or false: Multinucleated giant cells are found in TB - Answer-True
True or false: regeneration is the complete, or nearly, complete, restoration or normal
anatomy and function by the regrowth of normal functional cells - Answer-true
A surgical incision heals by which of the following - Answer-first intention
Using examples from the text, discuss the relationship between chronic injury/stress
and the resulting adaptations - Answer-Atrophy is decreased size and function of a cell
due to decreased demand, the conservation of energy, or the lack of physiologic
support: denervation.
Hypertrophy, the increased size of a cell, is caused by demands that cannot be met by
an increased number of cells: heart hypertrophy due to aortic stenosis.
Hyperplasia is an increase in the number of cells, often due to hormonal stimulation or
chronic injury: breast hyperplasia during lactation.
Metaplasia is the change of one cell type into another caused by chronic injury:
replacement of respiratory columnar epithelial cells with squamous cells in a smoker.
Dysplasia is a premalignant change in cells often caused by chronic injury: cervical
dysplasia caused by human papillomavirus.
Compare and contrast apoptosis and necrosis - Answer-Necrosis is the pathological
death of cells due to injury; it usually occurs in a contiguous block of cells and is
characterized by a nucleus that shrinks and darkens, fragments, and disappears and a
cytoplasm that may also shrink or rupture. Apoptosis is programmed cell death, in which
the cell activates suicide genes; it is characterized by a shriveled cell that is ultimately
ingested and digested by scavenger cells.
Explain how the physics of fluid flow in blood vessels influences the migration of
leukocytes in the setting of inflammation. - Answer-Inflammation causes vasodilation of
blood vessels to occur, which causes blood along the walls to move more slowly.
Leukocytes tend to travel in this slow-moving fluid due to their heaviness. They are then
