A 55-year-old man presents for a routine checkup that reveals abnormal liver function tests. Other tests and routine imaging are not diagnostic, so the patient is sent for a liver biopsy. In addition to hepatocytes, the sample will also include capillaries through which blood flows around the vascular poles of hepatocytes. What is typical for these vessels?

A 36-year-old woman comes to

the doctor with a usual problem. More and more often, she suffers from attacks

of tachycardia (high heart rate), accompanied by palpitations (often

irregular), and also by increased sweating and flushing, which her colleagues

at work have noticed. The doctor measures her blood pressure and it was quite

high. A blood test then reveals elevated levels of metanephrines (metabolites

of catecholamines). A subsequent CT scan confirms tumour in her right adrenal

gland. This is most likely a pheochromocytoma, a tumour of the chromaffin cells

(pheochromocytes) of the adrenal medulla from which catecholamines are released

into the body in a paroxysmal fashion. What is the origin of adrenal medulla

and how would you classify its tissue?

During an experiment, the immunophenotypes of different cells in a sample are determined. The cells are labeled with fluorescent antibodies specific to surface proteins, and a laser is then focused on the samples. The result shows most of the cells in the sample to be positive for CD8 surface protein. Which of the following cell types is most likely represented in this sample?

A 52-year-old woman had a total thyroidectomy. Unfortunately, pathologic analysis reveals that all the parathyroid glands were removed. Which parameter is most likely to be the most affected by the removal of the parathyroid glands?

A 36-year-old patient presents for painful

swelling on the skull. The swelling seems like a result of some trauma of which

the patient is unaware. At the same time, the swelling has been present for a

long time. An X-ray of the skull is taken and an osteolytic lesion of the skull

bones is discovered under the swelling (such lesion looks like a hole in the

bones and weakens the strength of the bones). This is a so-called eosinophilic

granuloma. Eosinophilic granuloma is a form of Langerhans cell histiocytosis in

adults. It is a monoclonal proliferation of Langerhans cells – special

dendritic cells of the epidermis. Normal Langerhans cells do not divide

further, whereas cell proliferation occurs in Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Moreover, these cells further migrate to other organs in this disease. Where these cells are normally found in the skin?

A 44-year-old man comes to the physician because he is worried about a mole on his right forearm. He has had the mole for several years, but it has grown in size in the past 3 months. Physical examination shows a hyperpigmented plaque with irregular borders. Histopathologic analysis of the mole confirms the diagnosis of malignant melanoma. Invasion of which of the following skin layers is most dangerous for the patient in view of the further possible spread of tumor cells?

A 52-year-old female patient

develops symptoms of hypocalcemia (low calcium levels) such as cramps or

paresthesias (sensory disturbances – tingling) very soon after surgery where

her thyroid gland was removed. In addition to low calcium levels, elevated

blood phosphate levels dominate in the laboratory tests. This is a typical

picture of acutely developing hypoparathyroidism resulting from removal of all

parathyroid glands during a previous operation. Their removal leads to

parathyroid hormone deficiency. How do we call the parathyroid cells that

produce this hormone?

Already when the now 9-month-old boy was born,

he had lighter skin and hair than his parents. Now it is noticeable that his

skin is very light overall, he has blue eyes and blonde hair. The boy has

partial albinism. Albinism is a rare, inherited metabolic disorder caused by a

defect in the enzyme tyrosinase. The disorder results in partial or complete

absence of melanin. Melanin is a pigment synthesized in the melanosomes

(derived from the Golgi apparatus) of melanocytes (cells of the epidermis) from

the amino acid tyrosine. What is the embryonic origin of melanocytes?