Neuropathology Flashcards
6 cards from real ABPATH practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 6 Neuropathology flashcards as text
A perivascular pseudorosette pattern on histology is MOST characteristic of which brain tumor?
Answer: Ependymoma
Ependymomas characteristically display perivascular pseudorosettes (tumor cell processes tapering toward vessels) and true ependymal rosettes.
Which genetic alteration is PATHOGNOMONIC for oligodendroglioma per WHO 2021 CNS classification?
Answer: IDH mutation + 1p/19q codeletion
The combination of IDH mutation and 1p/19q codeletion is required for the diagnosis of oligodendroglioma by WHO 2021 molecular criteria.
Spongiform encephalopathy with PrP-positive plaques and rapid progressive dementia is MOST consistent with which condition?
Answer: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a prion disease characterized by spongiform change, astrogliosis, neuronal loss, and PrP-positive amyloid plaques.
Which stain is BEST used to highlight amyloid plaques in Alzheimer disease on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded brain sections?
Answer: Congo red
Congo red stain reveals amyloid deposits as red-orange material with apple-green birefringence under polarized light, used to identify amyloid plaques.
A midline H3 K27M-mutant diffuse glioma in a pediatric patient is classified as WHO Grade how?
Answer: Grade IV
H3 K27-altered diffuse midline glioma is automatically classified as WHO Grade IV regardless of histologic appearance, due to its uniformly poor prognosis.
Schwannomas characteristically occur at which location in the central nervous system?
Answer: Cerebellopontine angle (CN VIII)
Vestibular schwannomas (acoustic neuromas) arise from the vestibulocochlear nerve sheath at the cerebellopontine angle and are the most common schwannoma location.