During the stay in the maternity hospital, the

newborn has a problem. The meconium does not pass (meconium is the first

content of the intestine to be passed during the first 1-2 days). After

examination, the so-called Hirschsprung disease

A younger colleague

asks you for advice. He received an insufficiently labeled sample from an

intestinal biopsy. The presence of which cells will best tell him whether it is

a small or large intestine?

During a preventive dental check-up, 35-year-old

man is found to have tooth decay between his first and second molars. As the

decay has already penetrated the enamel and reached the dentin, new dentin

begins to form in response to this local irritation. What type of dentin is

produced?

A 42-year-old patient

comes to his dentist for a regular check-up. The patient suffers from

periodontitis for a long time, which is an inflammatory disease of the

supporting apparatus of the teeth, which consists of the gums, periodontal

ligaments, cementum, and the alveolar process of the bone. The cause is the activity

of microorganisms, their multiplication promotes dental plaque and tartar.

Periodontal ligaments made of dense connective tissue fix the tooth to the gum

or alveolus. Their quality can be significantly impaired even by the lack of

one vitamin. Which one?

A 67-year-old pensioner presents to his doctor

with a respiratory infection. The man has worked as a coal miner all his life,

and this lifelong exposure to coal dust has led to the development of a disease

called coal worker pneumoconiosis, which results in a chronic cough and

significant shortness of breath. Coal dust is normally phagocytosed by alveolar

macrophages, but the inorganic components are not degraded by the lysosomal apparatus

of macrophages. However, if their phagocytic capacity is exceeded and

pro-inflammatory factors and aggressive enzymes are released from macrophages,

inflammation develops. This can lead to fibrotic changes in the lungs. This

disease makes even mild respiratory infections in this patient more severe.

What is another name for alveolar macrophages?

A 27-year-old female patient presents to her GP

for the second part of a preventive check-up. The patient's blood tests show a

fairly significant anemia. It soon becomes apparent that this is probably due

to a vitamin B12 deficiency, as the patient is a strict vegan and has not

supplemented her diet with this vitamin. During the physical examination, the

doctor notices one more symptom that would confirm this cause. The patient's

tongue has a distinct red colour and is completely smooth. In healthy

individuals, papillae can be observed macroscopically on the surface of the

tongue, which disappear in this condition, known as Hunter's glossitis. The

most common cause is vitamin B12 deficiency. Several types of papillae are

generally found on the tongue. But which of them has keratinized epithelium?

The 63-year-old patient came

to the doctor due to a dry cough lasting for many months, accompanied by

shortness of breath on exertion and fatigue. In addition, he had recently lost

a lot of weight. On physical examination, crepitus (a specific listening

phenomenon - like unzipping a Velcro strap) is present in the lungs. Decreased

oxygen saturation is also measured. In addition, the patient has typical mallet-shaped

fingers with clubbing nails in the shape of an hour glass. To confirm the

diagnosis suspected by his physician, a HRCT of the lungs (high-resolution CT

scan) is required, followed by a lung biopsy and histological examination of

the sample taken. The examination confirm the diagnosis of idiopathic pulmonary

fibrosis. It is probably a uniform pathological response of lung tissue to

infectious and non-infectious agents, but the cause of this disease is unknown.

In this disease, fibrosis and thickening of the blood-air barrier occurs. What

physiologically forms the blood-air barrier?

A 9-year-old girl comes to the dentist with her

mother. A large swelling, even a cyst, is forming under her tongue. It is a

so-called ranula, which is a retention cyst of the sublingual gland, formed by

obliteration (closure) of the duct, probably as a result of a previous

infection. The outflow of the saliva produced is impossible. The stagnant

saliva dilates the ducts, forming a secretion-filled cyst. The treatment here

is extirpation (surgical removal). Which characteristic describes the closed

main duct of the salivary gland here?

A 67-year-old pensioner presents to his doctor

with a respiratory infection. The man has worked as a coal miner all his life,

and this lifelong exposure to coal dust has led to the development of a disease

called coal worker pneumoconiosis, which results in a chronic cough and

significant shortness of breath. Coal dust is normally phagocytosed by alveolar

macrophages, but the inorganic components are not degraded by the lysosomal apparatus

of macrophages. However, if their phagocytic capacity is exceeded and

pro-inflammatory factors and aggressive enzymes are released from macrophages,

inflammation develops. This can lead to fibrotic changes in the lungs. This

disease makes even mild respiratory infections in this patient more severe.

What is another name for alveolar macrophages?

An investigator is studying the clearance of respiratory particles in

healthy non-smokers. An aerosol

containing radio-labeled particles that are small enough to reach the

alveoli is administered to the subjects via a special mask. A

gamma scanner is then used to evaluate the rate of particle clearance from the

lungs. The primary mechanism of particle clearance most likely involves which

of the following cell types?