Category
Pathology
Disease processes, tissue change and diagnostic terms.
Subcategories
Reversible and irreversible injury, necrosis, apoptosis and cellular adaptation.
Inflammation and RepairAcute and chronic inflammation, mediators, granulomas and wound healing.
Haemodynamic DisordersOedema, thrombosis, embolism, infarction and shock.
NeoplasiaCarcinogenesis, tumour behaviour, staging, grading and spread.
ImmunopathologyHypersensitivity, autoimmunity, immunodeficiency and transplant rejection.
Cardiovascular PathologyAtherosclerosis, infarction, valve disease, vasculitis and aneurysm.
Respiratory PathologyObstructive and restrictive lung disease, infection and lung tumours.
Gastrointestinal and Hepatic PathologyGut, liver, biliary and pancreatic disease processes.
Renal and Genitourinary PathologyGlomerular disease, tubular injury and urological tumours.
NeuropathologyStroke, trauma, infection, demyelination and neurodegeneration.
Haematological PathologyAnaemias, leukaemias, lymphomas and coagulation disorders.
Entries in Pathology
Diffuse alveolar damage with non-cardiogenic pulmonary oedema
A memory aid for the pathology and definition of ARDS.
Ischaemic or toxic injury to tubular cells, with an oliguric then polyuric phase
A memory aid for the causes and course of acute tubular necrosis.
Neutrophils and exudate in acute; lymphocytes, macrophages and fibrosis in chronic
A memory aid for distinguishing acute from chronic inflammation.
Misfolded protein deposited as beta pleated sheets
A memory aid for the types and features of amyloidosis.
Microcytic, normocytic and macrocytic, each with a short differential
A memory aid for classifying anaemia by red cell size.
True aneurysms involve all layers; false aneurysms are contained ruptures
A memory aid for the types and causes of aneurysm.
True or false, fusiform or saccular, with degeneration of the media
A memory aid for the types and pathology of aortic aneurysm.
Apoptosis is programmed and tidy; necrosis is accidental and inflammatory
A memory aid for distinguishing the two forms of cell death.
Inflammation, bronchoconstriction and airway remodelling
A memory aid for the airway changes in asthma.
Endothelial injury, lipid entry, foam cells, fatty streak, then fibrous plaque
A memory aid for the stages of atherosclerotic plaque formation.
Each autoimmune disease has a characteristic antibody profile
A memory aid for the main disease-associated autoantibodies.
Central and peripheral tolerance, and the ways each fails
A memory aid for how tolerance fails and autoimmunity develops.
Avascular Necrosis
Bone death from loss of blood supply
Malignant tumours invade, metastasise, grow rapidly and show cellular atypia
A memory aid for distinguishing benign from malignant neoplasms.
Each morphological abnormality points to a specific diagnosis
A memory aid for the diagnostic features on a blood film.
Subfalcine, uncal, central and tonsillar
A memory aid for the patterns of brain herniation.
Metastases outnumber primaries, and glioblastoma is the commonest primary
A memory aid for the common primary and secondary brain tumours.
Each agent has a characteristic tumour
A memory aid for the classic chemical, physical and biological carcinogens.
Rubor, calor, tumor, dolor and functio laesa
A mnemonic for the five classical signs of acute inflammation.
Dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive, each with a distinct physiology
A memory aid for the three types of cardiomyopathy.
G1, S, G2 and M, with checkpoints controlled by cyclins and p53
A memory aid for the phases of the cell cycle and their checkpoints.
Neutrophils first, macrophages next, lymphocytes for the long term
A memory aid for which cell arrives when in inflammation.
Hypertrophy, hyperplasia, atrophy, metaplasia and dysplasia
A mnemonic for the ways cells adapt to stress.
Cell-derived mediators such as histamine, and plasma-derived cascades
A memory aid for the mediators of inflammation by source.
Portal hypertension and hepatocellular failure, each with its own complications
A memory aid for the consequences of cirrhosis.
Carcinoma in situ
A pre-invasive epithelial malignancy that has not breached the basement membrane.
Villous atrophy, crypt hyperplasia and intraepithelial lymphocytosis
A memory aid for the duodenal biopsy findings in coeliac disease.
APC, then KRAS, then p53, accumulating over years
A memory aid for the molecular steps from normal colon to carcinoma.
Neoplastic adenomas versus non-neoplastic polyps
A memory aid for the types of colonic polyp and their malignant potential.
Classical, alternative and lectin pathways converging on C3
A memory aid for the three complement pathways and their functions.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
A chronic respiratory condition characterised by persistent airflow limitation.
Colorectal cancer
Cancer arising from the colon or rectum.
C-reactive protein
An inflammatory marker measured in blood tests.
Interleukin-1, interleukin-6 and tumour necrosis factor drive the acute phase response
A memory aid for the main inflammatory cytokines.
Ductal carcinoma in situ
A non-invasive malignant proliferation confined to breast ducts.
Hyperfiltration, then microalbuminuria, then proteinuria and decline
A memory aid for the stages and histology of diabetic kidney disease.
Widespread activation of coagulation consumes factors and platelets, causing both thrombosis and bleeding
A memory aid for the mechanism and results in DIC.
Metaplasia, dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, then invasion
A memory aid for the steps from normal epithelium to invasive cancer.
Centriacinar from smoking, panacinar from alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency
A memory aid for the patterns of emphysema.
Local factors at the wound, systemic factors in the patient
A mnemonic for the local and systemic factors delaying wound healing.
Fat after long bone fracture, amniotic fluid around delivery
A memory aid for the non-thrombotic embolic syndromes.
Unpaired electrons attacking lipids, proteins and DNA
A memory aid for the sources and consequences of free radical damage.
Reactive oxygen species damage lipids, proteins and DNA unless neutralised
A memory aid for oxidative stress and its defences.
Intestinal type from atrophic gastritis, diffuse type with signet ring cells
A memory aid for the types and spread of stomach cancer.
Ground Glass Opacity
Computed tomography finding showing hazy opacity without obscuring underlying vessels
Proliferative, membranous, sclerosing and crescentic patterns
A memory aid for the histological patterns of glomerular disease.
Infection, foreign body, sarcoidosis, Crohn disease and vasculitis
A mnemonic for the causes of granulomatous inflammation.
Sickle is a qualitative defect, thalassaemia a quantitative one
A memory aid for sickle cell disease and the thalassaemias.
Raised reticulocytes, bilirubin and LDH with low haptoglobin
A memory aid for the markers of haemolysis.
Self-sufficiency in growth, evasion of death, limitless replication, angiogenesis, invasion and metastasis
A memory aid for the acquired capabilities of a malignant cell.
Specific tissue types predisposing to specific autoimmune diseases
A memory aid for the classic HLA associations.
Hodgkin has Reed-Sternberg cells and spreads contiguously; non-Hodgkin does not
A memory aid for distinguishing the two groups of lymphoma.
ACID: Anaphylactic, Cytotoxic, Immune complex, Delayed
A mnemonic for the four types of hypersensitivity.
Immunohistochemistry
A laboratory technique using antibodies to detect antigens in tissue sections.
White infarcts in solid organs with a single supply; red infarcts in loose or dual-supplied tissue
A memory aid for red and white infarcts.
Vegetations on damaged valves, with embolic and immune complications
A memory aid for the organisms, valves and complications of endocarditis.
Transmural granulomatous inflammation versus mucosal crypt abscesses
A memory aid for the histological differences between Crohn and ulcerative colitis.
Haemophilia bleeds into joints, von Willebrand from mucosa
A memory aid for haemophilia and von Willebrand disease.
Upper zone and lower zone causes have distinct differentials
A memory aid for classifying interstitial lung disease by zone.
Lipid, protein, glycogen and pigments
A memory aid for the substances that accumulate within cells.
Extradural, subdural, subarachnoid and intracerebral, each with a characteristic vessel and shape
A memory aid for the patterns of intracranial bleeding.
Oxygen returns to injured tissue and generates free radicals
A memory aid for why restoring blood flow can worsen tissue damage.
Jaundice, Anaemia, Clubbing, Cyanosis, Oedema, Lymphadenopathy
A clinical examination mnemonic for key systemic signs.
Keloid grows beyond the wound; hypertrophic stays within it
A memory aid for distinguishing keloid from hypertrophic scarring.
Lactate dehydrogenase
An enzyme involved in the conversion between lactate and pyruvate.
ALL in children, AML in adults, CLL in the elderly, CML in middle age
A memory aid for the four main leukaemias by age and lineage.
Steatosis, hepatitis, cholestasis, fibrosis and cirrhosis
A memory aid for the histological patterns of liver damage.
Small cell is central and rapidly metastasising; non-small cell divides into squamous, adeno and large cell
A memory aid for the histological types of lung cancer and their behaviour.
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial injury caused by ischaemia, commonly known as a heart attack.
CRAB: Calcium raised, Renal failure, Anaemia, Bone lesions
A mnemonic for the clinical features of multiple myeloma.
Polycythaemia vera, essential thrombocythaemia, myelofibrosis and CML
A memory aid for the chronic myeloproliferative disorders.
Coagulative necrosis, then neutrophils, macrophages, granulation tissue and scar
A memory aid for the histological evolution of a myocardial infarct.
Inflammation of the myocardium, usually viral, often mimicking infarction
A memory aid for the causes and features of myocarditis.
Nephritic is inflammatory with haematuria; nephrotic is leaky with heavy proteinuria
A memory aid for distinguishing the two glomerular syndromes.
Each disease has a characteristic misfolded protein and distribution
A memory aid for the protein deposits characterising each neurodegenerative disease.
Transudate from pressure change; exudate from increased permeability
A memory aid for the pathological classification of oedema.
Squamous in the upper two-thirds, adenocarcinoma in the lower third
A memory aid for the two types of oesophageal cancer.
Oncogenes are the accelerator, tumour suppressors the brakes
A memory aid for the two classes of cancer gene.
Effects not explained by the tumour mass, its metastases or its hormones of origin
A memory aid for the syndromes caused by tumours at a distance.
Dystrophic occurs in damaged tissue; metastatic occurs in normal tissue with high calcium
A memory aid for the two types of tissue calcification.
Pulmonary Embolism
Blood clot in pulmonary artery; life-threatening; diagnosed on computed tomography pulmonary angiogram or ventilation-perfusion scan
Helicobacter pylori and NSAIDs account for the great majority
A memory aid for the causes and complications of peptic ulceration.
Coal, silica and asbestos, each with a characteristic pattern
A memory aid for the occupational dust diseases.
B cell, T cell, combined, phagocyte or complement
A memory aid for classifying inherited immune defects by the arm affected.
Hyperplasia affects the transition zone; carcinoma affects the peripheral zone
A memory aid for distinguishing benign from malignant prostatic disease.
Renal cell carcinoma in adults, Wilms tumour in children, urothelial carcinoma in the collecting system
A memory aid for the common renal and urothelial tumours.
Membrane damage and mitochondrial failure mark irreversibility
A memory aid for the point of no return in cell injury.
Local invasion, lymphatic, haematogenous, transcoelomic and perineural
A mnemonic for the ways malignancy spreads.
Compensated, decompensated and irreversible
A memory aid for the progression of shock.
Space-Occupying Lesion
Any mass or lesion that displaces or replaces normal tissue
Ischaemic in about 85 per cent, haemorrhagic in 15 per cent
A memory aid for the types and mechanisms of stroke.
Germ cell tumours predominate, divided into seminoma and non-seminoma
A memory aid for the classification of testicular tumours.
Reduced production, increased destruction, sequestration or dilution
A memory aid for classifying a low platelet count.
Factor V Leiden is commonest inherited; antiphospholipid syndrome commonest acquired
A memory aid for inherited and acquired thrombophilia.
Lines of Zahn and attachment to the wall mark a true thrombus
A memory aid for distinguishing a thrombus formed in life from clot formed after death.
Hyperacute in minutes, acute in weeks, chronic over years
A memory aid for the timing and mechanism of graft rejection.
Stage is how far it has spread; grade is how abnormal it looks
A memory aid for the difference between stage and grade.
Thrombus, fat, air, amniotic fluid, tumour, septic and foreign body
A mnemonic for the substances that can embolise.
Coagulative, liquefactive, caseous, fat, fibrinoid and gangrenous
A mnemonic for the morphological patterns of necrosis.
Large, medium and small vessel vasculitis, each with characteristic diseases
A memory aid for classifying vasculitis by vessel size.
Stasis, endothelial injury and hypercoagulability
A mnemonic for the three factors predisposing to thrombosis.
Haemostasis, inflammation, proliferation and remodelling
A memory aid for the stages of wound healing.