A 15-year-old girl had her tongue pierced unprofessionally by her

friend. Unfortunately, this unprofessional execution led to an infection of the

tongue, as well as the sublingual salivary gland located nearby. Which of the

following describes the histological description of this gland?

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?

A 3-year-old girl is brought

to the emergency at night. It all started just a few hours ago when she

complained about a beginning sore throat. Unfortunately, the pain has increased

significantly to the point that the girl is unable to speak or swallow due to

the pain. She sits in a forward position, is very pale, finds it difficult to

breathe and has a high fever. Already according to the clinical picture, the

cause is clear to the doctor. High inflammatory parameters and gentle physical

examination confirm the diagnosis of acute epiglottitis, a life-threatening

swelling and inflammation of the epiglottis caused by

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?

An investigator is conducting a study to document the histological

changes in the respiratory passages of a chronic smoker. He obtains multiple

biopsy samples from the respiratory system of a previously

healthy 25-year-old man. Histological examination of one sample

shows simple cuboidal cells with club cells and with a surrounding layer of smooth muscle. 

A 59-year-old

lifelong alcoholic man presents with fever and abdominal pain that radiates to

his back. A physical exam reveals that his abdomen is tender in the midline

between the bottom of his ribs and his umbilicus. Blood tests reveal elevated

levels of pancreatic enzymes, and ultrasound suggests inflammation of the

pancreas or pancreatitis. The elevated pancreatic enzymes are from which of the

following cell types?

A 33-year-old woman is 32 weeks pregnant and

experiences premature amniotic fluid leakage and preterm labour. The woman is

given tocolytics (medication that inhibit uterine muscle activity). Their

administration stops or relieves the contractions of the uterus, thereby

delaying premature labour. The main benefit of tocolytic treatment is mainly

short-term, i.e. delaying preterm birth by two to seven days. The reason for

tocolytic treatment is to buy time for transport of the woman and baby to a

specialized centre and for time for administration of corticosteroids to induce

lung maturity of the fetus. One important factor in lung maturity is sufficient

surfactant production. Which lung cells produce it?

A 45-year-old patient

comes to the dental emergency at night for an acute toothache. Previously, the

given tooth was more sensitive to cold or warm stimuli. Now the pain is

throbbing and constant, and cold stimuli tend to relieve it. Common analgesics

are ineffective. The patient is diagnosed with acute pulpitis, inflammation of

the dental pulp. The dental pulp is mainly made up of loose connective tissue,

which is also the reason why inflammation spreads easily here. What important

type of cell is also part of the pulp chamber?

A 64-year-old man

with diverticular disease comes to the emergency department because of painless

rectal bleeding, dizziness, and lightheadedness for 2 hours. His

temperature is 37.8°C, his pulse is 120/min, his respirations are 23/min, and his blood pressure is 83/61 mmHg. His skin and mucous membranes are

pale. Physical examination shows bright red rectal bleeding. Endoscopic

hemostasis is performed. On the base of liver enzymes elevation together with

hemoglobin decrease in plasma, we assume that hypoxic damage of hepatocytes has

occurred, especially in zone III (near the central vein). Which unit of the

liver parenchyma consists of 3 zones, one of which is the zone around the

central vein?

A 69-year-old alcoholic

presents to a GP for a range of complaints including dyspepsia (feeling full

after eating, poor digestion), fatigue, weakness, exhaustion, lack of appetite,

weight loss, abdominal distension, swelling, arthralgia, and spinal pain. Even

a physical examination revealing hepatomegaly (enlarged liver), spider angioma,

and ascites (presence of fluid in the abdominal cavity) suggests that the

patient is suffering from cirrhosis. This is confirmed by laboratory, sonography,

and biopsy. Liver cirrhosis is the remodelling of the lobular structure of the

liver into a nodular structure due to the disappearance of hepatocytes,

replacement by connective tissue and nodule formation as a result of chronic

liver disease. Ito cells play an important role in this remodelling process.

Where would we find most of these cells?