General Pathology Disturbance of Growth 2024 -2025
Disturbance of Growth
֎ Types of Disturbance of Growth:
ATROPHY HYPERTROPHY HYPOPLASIA HYPERPLASIA
METAPLASIA DYSPLASIA NEOPLASIA
ATROPHY
o DEFINITION:
Decrease in the size of a tissue or organ resulting from a decrease in the size of
individual cells composing the tissue or organ
o TYPES AND CAUSES
A. Physiological atrophy
1) During embryonic life: the yolk sac,
thyroglossal duct undergo atrophy
2) During maturation: there is atrophy of
the thymus gland that synthesizes blood
cells in embryos
B. Pathological Atrophy
1) Nutritional atrophy interfering with arterial supply
2) Disuse atrophy muscles and bones of fractured immobilized limb (as in cast)
3) Endocrine atrophy: decreased secretion of pituitary hormones results in atrophy of
the thyroid, adrenals and gonads
4) Pressure atrophy:
a) The bodies of vertebrae in aortic aneurysm
b) The kidney in cases of hydronephrosis
5) Senile atrophy cell loss in aging process
6) Neuropathic atrophy it is seen in paralyzed muscles
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General Pathology Disturbance of Growth 2024 -2025
HYPERTROPHY
o DEFINITION
Increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to increase in the size of its constituent
cells
o TYPES AND CAUSES
A. Physiological hypertrophy
1) Hypertrophy of the skeletal muscles in athletes, muscle fibers become enlarged
markedly increase in length.
2) Hypertrophy of the pregnant uterus
B. Pathological hypertrophy
1) Adaptive hypertrophy: hypertrophy of the cardiac muscles of the left ventricle in
systemic hypertension
2) Compensatory hypertrophy in paired organs as lung, kidney So removal of one
kidney is followed by hypertrophy of the other
3) Hormonal hypertrophy
Gigantism and Acromegaly due to excessive of secretion of growth hormone of
the anterior pituitary
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General Pathology Disturbance of Growth 2024 -2025
HYPOPLASIA
o DEFINITION
Decease in size of an organ due to
failure of its development in embryonic
life (uterus & kidney)
HYPERPLASIA
o DEFINITION
Increase size of an organ due to increase in the number of its cells (both labile and
stable cells)
o TYPES AND CAUSES
A. Physiological hyperplasia
1) In breast and genital organs during puberty, pregnancy and lactation
B. Pathological hyperplasia:
1) Hyperplasia due to increased hormonal secretions:
o Thyrotoxicosis
o Cushing’s syndrome.
2) Hyperplasia due to hormonal imbalance:
o Fibrocystic disease of the breast
o Endometrial hyperplasia.
o Prostatic hyperplasia
3) Compensatory hyperplasia: bone marrow hyperplasia occurs after hemorrhage.
4) Chronic reactive hyperplasia: in the lymphoid tissue secondary to infections.
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General Pathology Disturbance of Growth 2024 -2025
NEOPLASIA
o DEFINITION:
it’s formation of mass due to multiplication of cells. This
multiplication is without cause, without limit, without function
and without control of the body.
It may be BENIGN or MALIGNANT.
Pathological hyperplasia Neoplasia
Induced by stimulus & corrected by its removal Doesn’t depend on stimulus
Self-limited Uncontrolled
Degree of hyperplasia = degree of stimulus Degree of neoplasia independent to stimulus
Cells resemble the original cells. Cells differ from the original cells.
Normal mitosis Abnormal mitosis
Used to perform function It is functionless & purposeless
METAPLASIA
o DEFINITION
Change of one type of differentiated tissue to another type of the same category
under certain conditions
o TYPES
A. Epithelial Metaplasia:
1) Squamous metaplasia: usually due to chronic irritation:
o Gall bladder (Simple columnar epithelium), in chronic cholecystitis especially
with the calcular type.
o Renal pelvis and bladder (transitional epithelium): it is common in chronic
infection and chronic irritation.
o Bronchi (pseudostratified columnar ciliated) in chronic bronchitis, lung abscess,
bronchiectasis.
2) Columnar or glandular metaplasia: cystitis
glandularis of the urinary bladder in bilharziasis.
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General Pathology Disturbance of Growth 2024 -2025
B. Connective tissue metaplasia:
1) Bone may be formed in scars and in muscles in traumatic myositis ossificans
C. Tumor metaplasia:
1) Transformation of one type of tumor to another type as adenocarcinoma into
squamous cell carcinoma
D. Mesothelial metaplasia:
1) The flattened cells lining the serous sacs may change to squamous, columnar or
glandular epithelium
DYSPLASIA
o DEFINITION:
Disordered cell development with partial loss of
resemblance to the normal tissue origin.
o CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES:
A. Nuclear abnormalities:
1) Increased nuclear /cytoplasmic ratio (N/C ratio)
2) Hyperchromatism
3) Abnormal chromatin distribution (coarse clumping)
4) Nuclear membrane irregularities.
B. Cytoplasmic abnormalities
1) lack of keratinization in squamous cells and lack of mucin in glandular epithelium.
C. Increased rate cell multiplication:
1) Presence of mitotic figures in many layers of the epithelium in contrast to the
normal state in which mitosis is limited to the basal layer. Individual mitoses are
morphologically normal.
Dysplasia is usually graded as mild, moderate or severe.
Dysplasia is a premalignant lesion (but it is reversible changes);
associated with an increased risk of development of cancer.
The best example is seen in the uterine cervix.
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