Cellular Adaptation and Injury Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering cellular adaptation mechanisms, types of cellular injury, calcification, and the characteristics of necrotic and apoptotic cell death.

Atrophy

A decrease in the size of cells which causes the organ or tissue to shrink, often resulting from disuse, aging, or reduced blood flow.

Hypertrophy

An increase in cell size leading to an enlarged organ, usually caused by increased mechanical workload or hormonal stimulation.

Hyperplasia

An increase in the number of cells in a tissue through replication, which can be physiologic (such as pregnancy) or pathologic (such as BPH).

Metaplasia

The replacement of one adult cell type by another adult cell type, always caused by chronic irritation, such as smoking.

Dysplasia

Disordered and abnormal cell growth with variation in size and shape; it is always pathologic and considered pre-cancerous.

Dystrophic Calcification

Calcium deposits that occur in injured or dying tissue while serum calcium levels remain normal.

Metastatic Calcification

Calcium deposits in normal tissue resulting from high serum calcium levels (hypercalcemia).

Ionizing radiation

Radiation from sources like X-rays and CT scans that causes direct damage to DNA.

Non-ionizing radiation

Radiation from sources like ultrasound and microwaves that primarily causes heat injury.

Hypoxic Cell Injury

Cellular injury occurring when cells do not receive enough oxygen to produce $ATP$, leading to anaerobic metabolism and potential cell death.

Ischemia

A cause of hypoxia characterized by blocked blood flow, such as from a clot.

Necrosis

Pathologic cell death characterized by cell swelling, membrane rupture, and inflammation.

Apoptosis

A controlled, developmental process of programmed cell death that removes old or damaged cells without causing inflammation.

Coagulative Necrosis

A specific type of necrosis associated with Myocardial Infarction ($MI$).

Liquefactive Necrosis

A type of necrosis associated with brain injury or an abscess.

Caseous Necrosis

A type of necrosis characteristic of Tuberculosis ($TB$) lesions.

Gangrene

A term describing necrosis that affects a large area of tissue.

Anaerobic Metabolism

A metabolic process that occurs when oxygen is absent, resulting in the buildup of lactic acid and acidification of the cell.

Nat/K pump failure

A consequence of low $ATP$ during hypoxic injury that causes sodium to enter the cell, leading to cellular swelling.