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Pathology Recognition Flashcards

7 cards from real ARRT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Pathology Recognition flashcards as text

  1. A patient with known Crohn's disease undergoes CT enterography. Which finding most specifically indicates active inflammation?

    Answer: Bowel wall thickening with mural hyperenhancement and the comb sign

    Active Crohn's disease shows mural hyperenhancement, wall thickening, and engorged vasa recta (comb sign) on CT enterography.

  2. On a non-contrast CT of the abdomen, a renal calculus most likely to be missed is composed of which material?

    Answer: Indinavir (drug-related)

    Indinavir stones are radiolucent and have very low Hounsfield units, making them nearly invisible on non-contrast CT.

  3. A CT chest in a patient with AIDS shows bilateral ground-glass opacities in a 'bat-wing' distribution. The most likely diagnosis is:

    Answer: Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia

    PCP (Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia) classically presents with bilateral perihilar ground-glass opacities in immunocompromised patients.

  4. CT of the neck in a patient with a palpable mass shows a cystic lesion at the angle of the mandible deep to the sternocleidomastoid muscle. This is most consistent with:

    Answer: Branchial cleft cyst

    Branchial cleft cysts characteristically appear as unilocular cystic masses at the angle of the mandible adjacent to the sternocleidomastoid muscle.

  5. Which feature on CT best distinguishes a benign adrenal adenoma from a metastasis?

    Answer: Attenuation less than 10 HU on non-contrast CT

    Adrenal adenomas are lipid-rich and typically measure less than 10 HU on unenhanced CT, a reliable distinguishing feature from metastases.

  6. On CT angiography of the aorta, which finding is pathognomonic of an aortic dissection?

    Answer: An intimal flap separating true and false lumens

    An intimal flap creating two distinct lumens (true and false) is the defining CT finding of aortic dissection.

  7. A CT pelvis shows a complex ovarian mass with solid components, calcifications, fat density, and hair-like structures. This is most consistent with:

    Answer: Mature cystic teratoma (dermoid cyst)

    Mature cystic teratomas contain fat, calcium, and soft tissue elements (including teeth or hair) from multiple germ cell layers.