CMI CMI Pathology & Disease Processes 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which cellular change is characteristic of irreversible cell injury leading to necrosis?
- Membrane blebbing
- Nuclear pyknosis (Correct answer)
- Ribosomal disaggregation
- Mitochondrial swelling
Correct answer: Nuclear pyknosis
Nuclear pyknosis—chromatin condensation and nuclear shrinkage—is a hallmark of irreversible cell injury progressing to necrosis.
Question 2: In illustrating atherosclerosis, which layer of the arterial wall does the fatty streak primarily involve?
- Tunica adventitia
- Tunica media
- Tunica intima (Correct answer)
- Elastic lamina
Correct answer: Tunica intima
Atherosclerotic fatty streaks form in the tunica intima, where lipid-laden macrophages (foam cells) accumulate beneath the endothelium.
Question 3: Which type of necrosis is most associated with liquefaction in brain infarcts?
- Coagulative necrosis
- Caseous necrosis
- Liquefactive necrosis (Correct answer)
- Fat necrosis
Correct answer: Liquefactive necrosis
Liquefactive necrosis predominates in brain infarcts because the CNS lacks the stromal scaffold that supports coagulative patterns.
Question 4: When depicting tumor angiogenesis, which growth factor is the primary driver of new vessel formation?
- EGF
- TGF-β
- VEGF (Correct answer)
- PDGF
Correct answer: VEGF
Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is the principal mediator of tumor-induced angiogenesis, stimulating endothelial proliferation and migration.
Question 5: Apoptotic cells are best identified histologically by which feature?
- Ghost cell outlines
- Apoptotic bodies with condensed chromatin (Correct answer)
- Inflammatory infiltrate
- Nuclear karyolysis
Correct answer: Apoptotic bodies with condensed chromatin
Apoptotic bodies are compact membrane-bound fragments containing condensed chromatin and organelles, distinguishing apoptosis from necrosis.
Question 6: In illustrating Crohn's disease, which transmural feature distinguishes it from ulcerative colitis?
- Pseudopolyps
- Crypt abscesses
- Skip lesions with granulomas (Correct answer)
- Continuous mucosal involvement
Correct answer: Skip lesions with granulomas
Crohn's disease characteristically shows skip lesions and non-caseating granulomas extending through the full bowel wall thickness.
CMI CMI Pathology & Disease Processes 1
Which cellular change is characteristic of irreversible cell injury leading to necrosis?