Sunday, December 14, 2014

Pathology brain tumors mnemonic

Hello, my favorite brainy people of the internet!
We'll be talking about some brain tumors today.
All of the mnemonics might not work for you, so take only what you need :)

Glioblastoma Multiforme:
It is the most common malignant CNS tumor in adults. It has a butterfly appearance as it commonly crosses the corpus callosum. Areas of necrosis and hemorrhage are present. (This was asked as a MCQ in my exam!) GFAP positive!

Glioblastoma Multiforme mnemonic:
GlioBUTTERFLYoma multiforme.
G for Glioblastoma, G for GFAP.
G for gangrene (Lame way to remember about the hemorrhage and necrosis!)

Meningioma:
A whorled appearance is seen, histopathologically. It commonly presents in women and expresses estrogen receptors. It can calcify resulting in psammoma bodies.

Meningioma mnemonic:
M flipped upside down looks like a W for whorled, women.

Psammoma body mnemonic:
PSaMmoma
Papillary carcinoma of the thyroid
Papillary renal cell carcinoma
Prolactinoma
Serous cystadenocarcinoma of the ovary
Somatostatinoma
Meningioma
Mesothelioma

Oligodendroglioma:
Fired egg appearance or chicken wire capillary pattern seen on histology. It commonly involves the white matter of frontal lobe resulting in seizures.

Oligodendroglioma mnemonic:
Eggs look like O.. OligOdendrOgliOma. Fried eggs leads to a fried brain. Fried brains cause seizures.

Pilocytic astrocytoma:
It's a benign tumor of astrocytes, most common tumor in children. It involves the cerebellum (below the tentorium). Rosenthal fibers are eosinophilic, corkscrew fibers found in pilocytic astrocytoma. Pilocytic astrocytomas generally form sacs of fluid (cysts).

Pilocytic astrocytoma mnemonic:
PiloCYSTIC astrocytoma.
AstROSEcyte. ROSEnthal fibres!

Schwannoma:
Often localized to CN VIII, found in cerebellopontine angle, S-100 postitive. Histologically, shows cellular Antoni A area and paucicellular Antoni B area.

Schwannoma mnemonic:
For Schwannomas I remember the bird, "SWAN"
S-100 positive
Well circumscribed
Acoustic Schwannomas are common (More common than Trigeminal Schwannomas!)
ANtoni A and ANtoni B
Neurofibromatosis type 2 has bilateral Schwannomas.

Pituitary adenoma:
It's a prolactinoma, most often. Derived from Rathke's pouch. Can cause bitemporal hemianopia.

Pituitary adenoma mnemonic:
P for Prolactinoma!

Craniopharyngioma:
Is a benign childhood tumor, derived from remnants of Rathke's pouch. It is the most common childhood supratentorial tumor (Infratentorial is pilocytic astrocytoma, remember?) Tooth enamel like calcification is seen. Can cause bitemporal hemianopia.

Craniopharyngioma mnemonic:
CRaniopharyngioma!
C for Children, Calcification.
R for Rathkes pouch!

Ependymoma:
Ependymal cell tumors most commonly found in 4th ventricle and thus can cause hydrocephalus. Characteristic perivascular pseudorosettes seen on histology. Rod-shaped blepharoplasts (basal ciliary bodies) found near nucleus.

Ependymoma mnemonic:
Epic Ependymoma. (Sounds similar, yaay!)
E for ependymal cells.
P for pseudorosettes.
I for inside the cavities of the brain (How I remember involvement of the ventricles!)
C for ciliary bodies.

Hemangioblastoma:
Most often cerebellar, associated with von Hippel-Lindau syndrome, can produce erythropoeitin causing secondary polycythemia.

Hemangioblastoma mnemonic:
HEmangioblastoma! H for Hippel. E for EPO.

That's all!

This post was requested by Kay =)
I covered most of them for you, lemme know which else do you need!

-IkaN

20 comments:

  1. thank you for these, they are really helpful :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is how you make pneumonics ! you rock. So helpful !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so very much! Glad they helped! :D

      PS: I have also written a blog on how to make medical mnemonics. You should check it out!

      Delete
  3. U r out of this world.......
    I came across your blog today.
    U have no idea how happy and shocked I'm.
    Will surely find you out, as I'm in Mumbai.
    Preparing for superspeciality entrance.
    God bless you.
    I'm out of words to thank u.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for the compliments and blessings, Sudharshan!

      Oh I would love to meet you, but maybe after your exam =)

      Delete
  4. Hey... Great work.... :)
    One doubt ..does meningioma express estrogen or progesterone receptors ??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There is a preponderance of progesterone receptors (PRs) and scarcity of estrogen receptors (ERs) in meningiomas.

      Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17219818

      Delete
  5. These are awesome! Where can I find your blog you mentioned?

    ReplyDelete
  6. YOU ROCK AQUAN HOMIE DAWG!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Very much helpful.thanku ikan..

    ReplyDelete
  8. Awesome
    Medicawesome
    #YOUAREAWESOME
    Thankyou!!!

    ReplyDelete

This is express yourself space. Where you type create something beautiful! <3
Wondering what do I write? Well...
Tell us something you know better. You are a brilliant mind. Yes, you are! ^__^
Ask about something you don't understand @_@?
Compliment... Say something nice! =D
Be a good critic and correct us if something went wrong :|
Go ahead. Comment all you like here! (:

PS: We have moderated comments to reduce spam. ALL comments that are not spam will be published on the website.