What is dysplasia?

What is dysplasia?

• A. Inflammation of tissue
• B. Replacement of one tissue by another
• C. Growth of blood vessels to tumor
• D. Abnormal changes in size, shape, and organization of mature cells, often considered a step towards cancer

Answer: (D)

Dysplasia is when cells show abnormal changes in size, shape, and organization, along with cellular and nuclear atypia and a loss of normal tissue architecture. These disordered features reflect immature or abnormal cell development and are often a premalignant state—meaning they can progress toward cancer if the underlying causes persist. You’d typically see variation in cell size and shape (pleomorphism), larger and darker (hyperchromatic) nuclei, a higher nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, and misordered maturation, sometimes with increased mitotic activity, while the abnormal cells remain confined to the epithelium without invading the basement membrane. This distinction matters because dysplasia can regress with removal of the cause, but it can also advance to carcinoma in situ and then invasive cancer if not addressed. Inflammation describes immune-driven tissue changes, metaplasia refers to one mature cell type replacing another, and angiogenesis is the growth of blood vessels toward a tumor—none capture the hallmark disordered cellular morphology and architecture of dysplasia.

Dysplasia is when cells show abnormal changes in size, shape, and organization, along with cellular and nuclear atypia and a loss of normal tissue architecture. These disordered features reflect immature or abnormal cell development and are often a premalignant state—meaning they can progress toward cancer if the underlying causes persist. You’d typically see variation in cell size and shape (pleomorphism), larger and darker (hyperchromatic) nuclei, a higher nucleus-to-cytoplasm ratio, and misordered maturation, sometimes with increased mitotic activity, while the abnormal cells remain confined to the epithelium without invading the basement membrane. This distinction matters because dysplasia can regress with removal of the cause, but it can also advance to carcinoma in situ and then invasive cancer if not addressed. Inflammation describes immune-driven tissue changes, metaplasia refers to one mature cell type replacing another, and angiogenesis is the growth of blood vessels toward a tumor—none capture the hallmark disordered cellular morphology and architecture of dysplasia.