past exams

• if you see a cell in the process of degranulation, you are probably looking at ---.

  • mast cell
  • macrophage
  • lymphocyte
  • adipocyte
  • fibroblast


  mast cell
• --- glands secrete a watery liquid that has no cellular fragments.

  • apocrine
  • merocrine
  • holocrine
  • sebaceous
  • all exocrine


  merocrine
• which of the following cells is NOT normally present inn areolar connective titsues?

  • lymphocytes
  • goblet cells
  • fibroblasts
  • macrophages
  • mast cells

  goblet cells
• which of the following statements about cartilage and bone is FALSE?

  • both cartilage and bone function as part of the body's skeleton
  • both chondrocytes and osteocytes can perform mitosis and expand the matrix within the tissue
  • both cartilage and bone have matrix
  • both cartilage and bone are surrounded by an outer fibrous connective tissue membrane
  • for both cartilage and bone, chondroblasts and osteoblasts have approximately the same functions

  B
• sudan stains are used to visualize --- in --- tissues.

  • fats / frozen sectioned
  • glycoproteins and mucins / paraffin-embedded
  • glycoprotein and mucins / frozen sectioned
  • fats / paraffin-embedded
  • proteins / paraffin-embedded


  A
• every epithelial membrane includes ---.

  • flat cells
  • at least two layers of cells
  • either microvilli or cilia
  • a basement membrane
  • more than one answer is correct

  D
• which of the following microscope lenses requires you to placer a drop of oil ("immersion oil") on the slide glass, to remove the air between the lens and the microscope slide?

  • objective, 40x
  • objective, 100x
  • ocular, 10x
  • objective, 4x
  • more than one of these answers is correct

  B
• myeloid stem cells differentiate into two lineages of progenitor cells. one of these lineages is able to produce erythrocyte progenitors and --- (progenitors).

  • lymphoid
  • monocyte
  • granulocyte
  • megakaryocyte
  • nothing else

  megakaryocyte
• funiculi are located in the ---.

  • spinal cord
  • cerebral cortex
  • arbor vitae
  • cerebellar cortex
  • meninges

  spinal cord
• which of the following cellular organelles, structures and/or inclusions can be observed (either because they stain or they don't stain) inside neurons using normal light microscopy? (MORE THAN ONE IS CORRECT).

  • lipofuscin granules
  • golgi apparatus
  • cytoskeletal proteins
  • rough endoplasmic reticulum/ribosomes
  • glycogen granules

  A

  B

  C

  D
• during hemopoiesis, "blebs" may be observed on which two cell types?

  • myeloblasts and megakaryocytes
  • monoblasts and promonocytes
  • myeloblasts and orthochromatophilic erythroblasts
  • proerythroblasts and megakaryoblasts
  • metamyelocytes and myeloblasts

  A
• you can estimate mean corpuscular volume (MCV) directly measuring the dimensions of some erythrocytes under the microscope, or you can calculate the MCV using two other test results, the RBC count and the ---.

  • complete blood count
  • plasma volume
  • hematocrit
  • buffy layer volume
  • differential blood count

  hematocrit
• which of the following is always present in arteries but never in veins?

  • tunica interna
  • endothelium
  • tunica externa
  • tunica media
  • none of the above are correct

  E
• in peripheral (circulating) blood, a blood cell with an S-shaped nucleus is likely to be a(an) ---.

  • plasma cell
  • basophil
  • lymphocyte
  • erythrocyte
  • neutrophil

  basophil
• the subendocardial layer contains a lot of ---.

  • pyramidal cells
  • pericytes
  • portal vessels
  • purkinje cells
  • coronary arteries

  purkinje cells
• a node of ranvier is the:

  • location where a presynaptic axon synapses onto a postsynaptic dendrite
  • location in a neuron where nerve impulses are initiated
  • gap between two Schwann cells or between two oligodendrocytes
  • location where a presynaptic axon synapses onto a postsynaptic soma
  • location in a neuron where neurotransmitter vesicles are stored

  C
• you examine the wall of the intestinal tract and you see a cluster of neural somas. these somas belong to --- neurons.

  • preganglionic sympathetic
  • somatic motor
  • preganglionic parasympathetic
  • postganglionic parasympathetic
  • postganglionic sympathetic

  D
• in the stomach's gastric glands, --- cells have their nuclei located at the basal end of the cell and the apical end of the cell is filled with a basophilic secretory vesicles.

  • parietal cells
  • chief cells
  • surface mucous cells
  • neck cells
  • enterochromaffin cells


  chief cells
• dermal papillae are filled with what kind of connective tissue?

  • dense irregular
  • dense regular
  • reticular
  • areolar
  • adipose

  dense irregular
• the absorptive surface of the small intestine is increased by all the following except ---.

  • villi
  • microvilli
  • the fact that the small intestine is the longest portion of the digestive tract
  • taenia coli
  • plicae circularese

  E
• --- papillae are located primarily on the sides of the tongue and contain many taste buds.

  • circumvallate
  • villus
  • filiform
  • foliate
  • fungiform


  foliate
• cementum ---

  • is the soft material filling the inner volume of roots of teeth
  • is the hard material covering only the roots of teeth
  • is the hard material covering only the crowns of teeth
  • is the soft filling the pulp cavities
  • is normally present on both crowns and roots of teeth

  B
• uteroglobin is secreted by which cells?

  • clara cells
  • goblet cells
  • ciliated columnar epithelial cells
  • type I pneumocytes
  • type II pneumocytes

  clara cells
• ceramids are extracellular lipids. they are synthesized in and secreted in the ---.

  • basale
  • corneum
  • granulosum
  • lucidum
  • spinosum

  granulosum
• which of the following would you expect to find in the ovary of an unborn human fetus?

  • a Graafian follicle
  • secondary follicle
  • a corpus luteum
  • a corpus albicans
  • primordial follicles

  primordial follicles
• normally, during the last 14 days of the menstrual cycle,

  • about 25 very large primordial follicles fill nearly the entire volume of the ovarian cortex
  • oogonia are starting cell division to create new primordial follicles
  • primary and secondary follicles are proliferating and growing
  • a singe corpus luteum is present in cortex
  • progesterone secretion by the ovary is very low

  D
• the basal compartment within a seminiferous tubule is full of ---.

  • spermatids and spermatozoa
  • spermatogonia
  • secondary spermatocytes
  • spermatozoa
  • primary spermatocytes

  spermatogonia
• which of the following would NOT be present in the spermatic cord?

  • nerves
  • seminiferous tubules
  • skeletal muscle tissue
  • arteries
  • vas deferens 


  seminiferous tubules
• in the zona fasciculata, the endocrine cells are

  • usually very strongly stained by hematoxylin, producing an almost black cytoplasm
  • really small in diameter and densely-packed
  • arranged in small circular cords
  • intermixed with chromaffin cells of the adrenal medulla
  • notable for their lightly-staining cytoplasm caused by their high lipid content

  E
• a relatively thick layer of smooth muscle surrounds the ---.

  • straight tubules
  • rete testis
  • epididymis
  • vas deferens
  • seminiferous tubules

  vas deferens
• histologically, how can chief cells and oxyphils of the parathyroid be distinguished?

  • chief cells are organized into follow follicles and oxyphils in the stroma
  • both cells are same shape and size. chief cells are eosinophilic. oxyphils are basophilic.
  • chief cells form a solid spherical mass. oxyphils form an epithelial lining around chief cell mass
  • chief cells are restricted to the cortex of the parathyroid glands.
  • chief cells form cords of small rounded cells, close together. oxyphils are larger cells with more cytoplasm.

  E
• hormones absorbed in capillaries within the median eminence influence hormone secretion from the ---.

  • adenohypophysis
  • pineal
  • thyroid
  • adrenal medulla
  • neurohypophysis

  adenohypophysis
• primary follicles can be recognized by which of the following traits?

  • a follicle with an oocyte that is barely attached to the follicular wall by a narrow cumulus oophorus
  • an antrum (of any size) filled with antral fluid
  • a fibrous follicular middle, filled with macrophages
  • one or more layers of cuboidal follicular cells and no antrum
  • a simple squamous epithelium of follicular cells


  D
• the other layers of a pre-ovulatory ovarian follicle are composed of ---.

  • sertoli cells
  • thecal cells
  • leydig cells
  • granulosa cells
  • oocytes

  thecal cells
• a lamina propria is ---

  • a layer of the basement membrane
  • a layer of exocrine glands in an epithelium
  • the fuzzy edge of the apical surface of an epithelium with microvilli
  • a layer of irregular or loose connective tissue beneath a mucous membrane
  • a layer of bone tissue in embryonic bone

  D
• the periodic acid-Schiff (PAS) stain can be used to visualize --- in ---.

  • myfibrils / fast glycolytic muscle fibers
  • intercalated disks / cardiac muscle fibers
  • myoglobin / slow oxidative muscle fibers
  • mitochondria / slow oxidative muscle fibers
  • glycogen / fast glycolytic muscle fibers

  E
• arrange the following terms in sequential order, from the largest structure to the smallest.

  • muscle fiber, muscle belly, thick filaments, myofibril
  • muscle belly, muscle fiber, myofibril, thick filaments
  • muscle belly, thick filaments, myofibril, muscle fibers
  • muscle belly, myofibril, thick filaments, muscle fiber
  • thick filaments, myofibril, muscle fiber, muscle belly

  B
• type III collagen is found in ---.

  • thick filaments
  • thin filaments
  • collagen fibers
  • elastic fibers
  • reticular fibers


  reticular fibers
• tubular exocrine glands are distinguished from acinar exocrine glands by ---

  • the proportional height of secretory epithelium
  • the diameter of the gland is relative to the diameter of the duct
  • the chemistry of the glandular secretion
  • the number of glandular cells relative to number of ductal cells
  • both A and B are correct

  E
• all keratinized epithelia are ---.

  • ciliated
  • columnar
  • cuboidal
  • stratified
  • mucous

  stratified