SBA — Single Best Answer · Review
Question 395
Pathology → General
Classification
Question
SSBAQuestion Header
An organ enlarges in response to increased functional demand. Histological examination demonstrates enlargement of individual parenchymal cells without an increase in their number. Which adaptive process has occurred?
Question Stem
Select the single best answer.
Options
A
Hyperplasia
B
Metaplasia
C
Atrophy
D
Hypertrophy
E
Dysplasia
Explanation
Hypertrophy is an increase in the size of individual cells without an increase in cell number. It therefore produces enlargement of a tissue or organ through increased cell size rather than cellular proliferation.
Option Validity
A) Hyperplasia is an increase in cell number rather than cell size.
B) Metaplasia is reversible replacement of one differentiated mature cell type by another.
C) Atrophy involves reduction in the number and size of parenchymal cells in a previously normal organ.
E) Dysplasia describes abnormal maturation and disordered cellular architecture rather than simple enlargement of cells.
Further Reading
Saxena R. Textbook for MRCOG-1. Chapter 5: Pathology. General Pathology, pp.161–175.