Pathology · Nervous System · Medium
Prion
Meaning: Misfolded infectious protein that causes fatal degenerative brain diseases.
In practice: Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease is caused by a prion acquired from eating contaminated beef products.
Quick check
Two questions on related pathology words.
Which word means: Mass of platelets, fibrin and microbes attached to a heart valve in infective endocarditis.
Answer: Vegetation
Which word means: Brain or spinal cord tumour arising from the star-shaped supporting glial cells of the nervous system.
Answer: Astrocytoma
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