Pathology

Cell injury and death Practice Questions

20 free Cell injury and death practice questions for the USMLE Step 1, each with the correct answer and a detailed explanation. Open any question below, or take the full set as an interactive quiz.

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All Cell injury and death questions

20 questions
  1. Q1. A patient suffers from prolonged ischemia to the heart leading to irreversible injury. Which of the following is the earliest sign of irreversible cell injury?
  2. Q2. A biopsy shows eosinophilic cytoplasm and pyknosis. These findings are characteristic of which process?
  3. Q3. A child ingests acetaminophen in toxic amounts, leading to centrilobular liver necrosis. Which mechanism underlies this injury?
  4. Q4. An elderly man with chronic hypertension develops enlargement of the individual cardiac muscle cells. This is an example of:
  5. Q5. A smoker develops squamous metaplasia in the bronchial epithelium. Which statement is true?
  6. Q6. A patient exposed to ionizing radiation shows DNA fragmentation. Which process is most characteristic?
  7. Q7. A patient with pancreatitis shows chalky white deposits in the abdominal cavity. What process explains this finding?
  8. Q8. Atherosclerotic plaques rupture due to cellular injury from oxidized LDL. What type of cellular accumulation is present?
  9. Q9. A patient has dystrophic calcification in an area of caseous necrosis. What serum calcium level is expected?
  10. Q10. A patient undergoing apoptosis displays cell shrinkage, membrane blebbing, and intact membranes. Which enzyme family mediates this?
  11. Q11. A man with chronic passive congestion of the liver develops hemosiderin-laden macrophages. What pigment is responsible?
  12. Q12. A patient with hypoxic injury shows cellular swelling. What is the primary cause of this change?
  13. Q13. A man with tuberculosis has granulomas with caseous necrosis. Which characteristic describes this necrosis?
  14. Q14. A patient with autoimmune vasculitis shows fibrinoid necrosis in the vessel walls. What causes this appearance?
  15. Q15. Cells undergoing apoptosis release cytochrome c. Which cellular structure releases it?
  16. Q16. A patient with severe ischemia to the brain develops liquefactive necrosis. What causes this pattern?
  17. Q17. A patient with chronic inflammation demonstrates lipofuscin accumulation. What does this pigment represent?
  18. Q18. A patient exposed to carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) develops hepatocyte swelling. What mechanism explains this?
  19. Q19. Cells undergoing necrosis release inflammatory signals. Which feature distinguishes necrosis from apoptosis?
  20. Q20. A patient with reperfusion injury shows increased free radical production. Which enzyme system contributes to this?