MEDizzy - In a study of hypoglycemic shock, cellular changes in the

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Central Nervous System (I)

In a study of hypoglycemic shock, cellular changes in the brain are analyzed. One cell type in the hippocampus is noted to exhibit intense cytoplasmic eosinophilia, central chromatolysis, spheroidal swellings, and nuclear pyknosis. These changes appear 12 hours after blood glucose levels drop below 20 mg/dL. What is this cell type most likely to be?

ExplanationHypoxic and hypoglycemic injury leads to “red” neurons as the initial reaction. The larger pyramidal neurons are the most sensitive, particularly in the hippocampus with hypoglycemia, as well as neocortical Betz cells and cerebellar Purkinje cells. Astrocytes proliferate in reaction to brain injury in the process called gliosis. Endothelial cells are most likely to proliferate in neoplasms. Microglia respond to brain injury with a macrophage-like function