Articles

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316 results found
Article

Chemical element notation

The notation of the 118 known chemical elements is prescribed by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) 1.  Each chemical element has a long name and a symbol. In English the long name is only capitalized as part of title or sentence case. Chemical element names are not p...
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Malignant transformation

Malignant transformation is the term given to the process whereby either normal, metaplastic, or benign neoplastic tissue, becomes a cancer. The process usually occurs in a series of steps and the affected tissue gradually accumulates the genetic mutations that express a malignant phenotype. The...
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Neoplasm

Neoplasms, also known as tumors, are pathological masses, caused by cells abnormally proliferating and/or not appropriately dying. Neoplasms may be either benign or malignant. Malignant neoplasms are synonymous with cancers. Benign neoplasms clear origin (unless very large) slow growth  usua...
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Sessile

Sessile is a pathological term which is used for lesions that are attached by their base, that is they lack a stalk i.e. are not pedunculated. It is most commonly used for intraluminal polyps in the GI tract. History and etymology Sessile is derived from the Latin word "sessilis" which means s...
Article

Quadruple screening test

The quadruple screening test, also known as the quad screen, AFP Plus quad test or multiple marker screening test, is a maternal antenatal screening blood test that can be used in conjunction with other investigations e.g. ultrasound soft markers, to estimate the risk of aneuploidy 1.  This is ...
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Glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP)

Glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) is a commonly used target for immunohistochemistry and is positive in many glial cells and tumors of glial origin. GFAP is the building block for intermediate filaments which are abundant in the cytoplasms particularly of astrocytes.  Related pathology Alex...
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Klebsiella

Klebsiella is a genus of Gram-negative, oxidase-negative, rod-shaped bacteria, which is relatively commonly encountered in the healthcare environment. It has numerous species, including K. pneumoniae, K. aerogenes, and K. rhinoscleromatis 1. Klebsiella may cause a range of infections, most commo...
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Transcriptome

The transcriptome refers to the set of all transcribed RNA, including the messenger RNA (mRNA), which is eventually is translated into proteins, as well as non-coding RNA molecules (e.g. transfer RNA (tRNA), ribosomal RNAs (rRNA), microRNA, etc.).  Unlike the genome, which is fixed (barring spo...
Article

Perivascular pseudorosettes (ependymoma)

Perivascular pseudorosettes are a common histologic feature of central nervous system ependymomas. They represent sections through papillary structures composed of tumor cells arranged radially around a central vessel. Between the central vessel and the tumor cells is a relatively microscopicall...
Article

Phlegmon

Phlegmon (plural: phlegmons) refers to soft connective tissue inflammation, usually in the context of infectious disease. It is distinct from an abscess, which is a collection of pus walled-off by granulation tissue. Terminology and Usage Historically and contemporaneously, phlegmon is used in...
Article

Arias-Stella reaction

An Arias-Stella reaction is a common gynecological histological finding in curettage specimens of gestational endometrium describing a non-neoplastic lesion that is easily confused with uterine malignancy 1,2. Pathology An Arias-Stella reaction is due to hormonal hyperstimulation causing atypi...
Article

Gliosis

Gliosis is a reactive process occurring after some time following most types of central nervous system injuries and is the result of focal proliferation of glial cells, particularly astrocytes.  Terminology Although the terms astrocytic gliosis or astrocytosis are often used interchangeably wi...
Article

Mesenchyme

Mesenchyme, or mesenchymal connective tissue, is a type of undifferentiated connective tissue. It is predominantly derived from the embryonic mesoderm, although may be derived from other germ layers, e.g. mesenchyme derived from neural crest cells (ectoderm). The term mesenchyme is often used t...
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Prostatic acid phosphatase

Prostatic acid phosphatase (PAP) also known as prostatic specific acid phosphatase (PSAP) is an enzyme generated by prostatic glandular tissue. Usage It can be used in immunohistochemistry to identify prostatic tissue including prostatic epithelium and prostatic ducts and is usually expressed ...
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Glycosaminoglycans

Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs), formerly known as mucopolysaccharides, are biomolecules produced by almost all mammalian cells, as well as in many vertebrates and invertebrates, but have not been described in plants 1. They are constituent elements of proteoglycans and are found within the cells in t...
Article

CA 19-9

CA 19-9 (carbohydrate antigen 19-9 or cancer antigen 19-9) is a serum antigen (monosialoganglioside) that has increased diagnostic use in the management of several malignancies, mainly of hepatopancreaticobiliary origin. It is non-specific, however, and can rise in both malignant and non-maligna...
Article

Intracranial aneurysm (overview)

Intracranial aneurysms, also called cerebral aneurysms, are aneurysms of the intracranial arteries. The most common morphologic type is the saccular aneurysm. Pathology There is not a universal classification for the types of intracranial aneurysms, resulting in a heterogeneous mix of terms ba...
Article

CSF alpha-fetoprotein

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) in the cerebrospinal spinal fluid (CSF) has been reported as a tumor marker for some intracranial tumors with yolk sac elements, and teratoma 1. Interpretation Elevation intracranial yolk sac tumor intracranial embryonal carcinoma congenital CNS tumors with yolk sac ...
Article

CDKN2A/p16

CDKN2A (cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A) is a tumor suppressor gene that encodes for the p16 protein, involved in the CDK4/6–RB1 cell-cycle pathway 5.  p16 is a widely used immunohistochemical marker indicating expression of the cell cycle protein, which is upregulated by human papillomavi...
Article

John Cunningham virus

John Cunningham virus, also known as human polyomavirus 2, universally known as the JC virus, is a ubiquitous double-stranded DNA virus of the polyomaviridae family 1. In immunocompromised individuals, reactivation can lead to a variety of disease of the central nervous system, the most common o...

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