Systems Pathology | Pathology Student

Can thyroid disease run in families?

Q. I was just wondering if you knew of any hereditary component to thyroid problems. (more…)

How does the dexamethasone suppression test work?

Q. I am confused as to why high-dose dexamethasone inhibits a pituitary source, but the lower dose does not. Â (more…)

What goes on inside a caseating granuloma?

Q. Are the caseating granulomas seen in tuberculosis considered part of innate or adaptive immunity? What’s happening inside them?

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Adrenal cortical hypoplasia vs. hyperplasia

Q. What does it mean when Robbins says the adrenal cortices are hyper- and hypoplastic?

A. Hypoplastic adrenal cortices mean that the adrenal cortices have atrophied; hyperplastic adrenal cortices mean that they have expanded. (more…)

Why doesn’t aldosterone secretion depend on ACTH?

Q. I have a question about the secretion of aldosterone that I haven’t been able to figure out by searching online or looking in books (maybe I’m looking in the wrong places!). (more…)

Why does renal failure cause hyperparathyroidism?

Q. Can you explain why patients with renal failure have hyperparathyroidism?

A. Yes – but first, a quick note about the parathyroid. (more…)

Is basal cell carcinoma really malignant?

Q. How can basal cell carcinoma be considered both malignant and invasive if it never metastasizes? (more…)

Even more on H. pylori

Q. I have a question about H. pylori. I understand that it’s mainly the host’s inflammatory response to the H. pylori‘s presence at the epithelial cell surface that causes the ulcers. (more…)

Intestinal parasites are a big cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. They don’t just occur in underprivileged parts of the world though – there are several that are pretty common here in the US. (more…)

H. pylori: How does it do it all?

H. pylori is one crazy bug.

It lives in one of the most hostile environments in the body: the highly acidic stomach. In fact, it not only lives there, it seems to thrive! (more…)