Cell Injury Practice Mcqs
Questions and Answers
1. A pathologist notes the following findings after light microscopic examination of a
section of liver from a chronic alcoholic. Which of the following is an example of a
reversible injury?
o A. Pyknosis
o B. Cytoplasmic vacuoles
o C. Rupture of cell membrane
o D. Karyolysis
o E. Karyorrhexis
2. You are asked to review an electron micrograph of a section of liver from a
chronic alcoholic Which of the following is an example of an irreversible injury?
o A. Cellular edema
o B. Chromatin clumping
o C. Cytoplasmic inclusions
o D. Mitochondrial swelling
o E. Rupture of cell membrane
3. A patient is admitted with severe substernal chest pain of 4 hours duration. Lab
tests reveal increased level of the serum creatine kinase. This is most likely due
to:
o A. Mitochondrial swelling
o B. Nuclear lysis
o C. Damage of plasma membranes
o D. Increased endoplasmic reticulum
o E. Increased golgi activity
4. You are asked to review a liver biopsy from a patient with history of alcohol
abuse. Which of the following pathologic changes will most likely lead to death of
hepatocytes and liver cirrhosis?
o A. Fatty change in liver cells
o B. Hydropic change of hepatocytes
o C. Karyolysis in myocardial cells
o D. Glycogen deposition in hepatocyte nuclei
5. A pathologist notes that a biopsy from the lung of living patients shows the
morphologic changes indicative of irreversible injury and cell death. Which of the
following is most likely responsible for cell death in a living body?
o A. Cytolysis
o B. Necrosis
o C. Putrefaction
o D. Autolysis
o E. Somatic death
6. You are asked to participate in a research project on myocardial infarctions in a
rat model. Which of the following occurs in ischemic cell injury?
o A. Efflux of K+ and Na+
o B. Influx of K+ and Ca++
o C. Influx of K+ and H2O
o D. Influx of Na+ and Ca++
o E. Influx of Na+ and K+
7. Cell death causes by autolysis is produced by
o A. Antibodies
o B. Endogenous enzymes
o C. Phagocytic leukocytes
o D. Bacterial enzymes
o E. Anoxia
8. A 10-year-old black man with a known history of sickle cell disease presents to
the emergency department complaining of left upper quadrant pain suggestive
of a splenic infarct. Microscopic examination of the spleen would most likely
reveal
o A. Caseous necrosis
o B. Coagulative necrosis
o C. Fibrinoid necrosis
o D. Gangrenous necrosis
o E. Liquefactive necrosis
9. A pathologist notes cloudy swelling, hydropic change and fatty change in the
liver of a patient with a history of alcohol abuse. These morphological changes are
all examples of
o A. Early neoplastic change
o B. Hyaline change
o C. Patterns of cell death
o D. Postmortem artefact
o E. Reversible cell injury
10. Which of the following is an example of an agent capable of producing a toxic
metabolite and indirect chemical injury?
o A. Alcohol
o B. Aspirin
o C. Carbon monoxide
o D. Mercury poisoning
o E. Cyanide
11. A circumscribed mass of light yellow crumbly to pasty material associated
microscopically with a macrophage response is characteristic of
o A. Caseous necrosis
o B. Coagulative necrosis
o C. Fibrinoid necrosis
o D. Gangrenous necrosis
12. A well-demarcated lesion with increased cytoplasmic eosinophilia, karyolysis,
and intact tissue architecture is characteristic of
o A. Caseous necrosis
o B. Enzymatic fat necrosis
o C. Coagulative necrosis
o D. Cloudy swelling
o E. Liquefactive necrosis
13. The pattern of cell death that is characterized by conversion of a single cell to
an acidophilic body, usually with loss of the nucleus but with preservation of its
shape to permit recognition of cell boundaries is termed
o A. Apoptosis
o B. Caseous necrosis
o C. Fibrinoid necrosis
o D. Liquefactive necrosis
14. A 65 year old man presents with angina and dyspnea. He has a family history
of hypercholesterolemia. Unfortunately despite thrombolytic therapy he dies. What
would you expect to see on light microscopic examination of cardiac tissue?
o A. Caseous necrosis
o B. Enzymatic fat necrosis
o C. Liquefactive necrosis
o D. Coagulative necrosis
15. Laproscopic examination of the abdomen was performed on a 50 year old
chronic alcoholic man. The surgeon noted digestion of tissue with soap formation
and calcification. Which of the following is this most likely characteristic of?
o A. Coagulative necrosis
o B. Caseous necrosis
o C. Enzymatic fat necrosis
o D. Liquefactive necrosi
16. The action of putrefactive bacteria on necrotic tissue results in
o A. Coagulation
o B. Infarction
o C. Gangrene
o D. Embolism
o E. Caseation
17. A well-demarcated area of myocardium appears paler than surrounding tissue
and microscopically consists of eosinophilic muscle fibers with only a few
karyorrhectic and pyknotic nuclei remaining. Many polys are seen, especially at the
margin of this area. The age of the myocardial infarct is most likely
o A. 2 minutes
o B. 2 hours
o C. 2 days
o D. 2 weeks
o E. 2 months
18. You are asked to write a microscopic description of the coagulative necrosis
that was noted in the heart of a patient who died of a heart attack because of
cocaine abuse. Which of the following best described coagulative necrosis?
o A. Eosinophilic cytoplasm with cell outlines preserved
o B. Granular, friable mass of material devoid of cell outlines
o C. Localized, solid, basophilic lesion with calcification
o D. Necrosis in which tissue is converted into a fluid
19. Caseous necrosis is characterized morphologically by
o A. Preservation of tissue outlines
o B. Basophilia
o C. Semi-liquid consistency
o D. Wedge-shaped periphery
o E. Amorphous appearance
20. Caseous necrosis is characterized morphologically by
o A. Preservation of tissue outlines
o B. Basophilia
o C. Semi-liquid consistency
o D. Wedge-shaped periphery
o E. Amorphous appearance
21. Which tissue is the most susceptible to liquefactive necrosis following ischemic
injury?
o A. Pancreas
o B. Liver
o C. Spleen
o D. Brain
o E. Intestine
22. A patient suffers a stroke and has left sided weakness and paralysis in the
upper extremity. The type of necrosis associated with a well-developed infarct of
the brain is
o A. Coagulative
o B. Enzymatic fat
o C. Liquefactive
o D. Gangrenous
23. 75-year-old woman has a complaint of shortness of breath and chest pain that
radiates to the left shoulder. Serum levels of CK-MB (myocardial creatine kinase)
and cardiac muscle troponin I (cTnI) are elevated. Which of the following types of
myocardial cell death would best account for these findings?
o A. Apoptosis
o
o B. Caseous necrosis
o
o C. Coagulative necrosis
o
o D. Fat necrosis
o
o E. Liquefactive necrosis
24. Coagulative necrosis usually results from
o A. Abscess formation
o B. Ischemia
o C. Trauma
o D. Tuberculosis
o E. Syphilis
