Infectious Neuropathology
Infectious Neuropathology
What You'll Learn
- Bacterial meningitis and abscess — the exudate, the stages, and the stains that confirm the organism
- Viral encephalitis by signature inclusion and location (HSV, CMV, rabies, HIV)
- Granulomatous & fungal CNS infection — TB, cryptococcus, and the angioinvasive molds
- Parasitic disease — toxoplasma, neurocysticercosis, cerebral malaria
The neuropathology view — tissue findings and confirmatory stains. Clinical CNS-infection workup lives in the Infectious / Neuro-ID notes.
What You'll Learn
| Entity | Pathology | Confirm |
|---|---|---|
| Acute pyogenic meningitis | Neutrophilic exudate in subarachnoid space (convexities in pneumococcus; base in H. influenzae/TB); vascular congestion; risk of vasculitis, infarct, hydrocephalus | Gram stain + CSF culture (organism by age) |
| Cerebritis → abscess | Early cerebritis → central liquefactive necrosis → collagen/gliotic capsule (thinner on ventricular side → rupture risk) | Gram / GMS / AFB + culture; MRI restricted diffusion |
What You'll Learn
| Virus | Location / gross | Signature |
|---|---|---|
| HSV-1 | Hemorrhagic necrosis, inferomedial temporal & orbitofrontal / limbic | Cowdry A intranuclear inclusions; IHC/PCR |
| CMV | Periventricular necrosis / ventriculitis (immunosuppressed, congenital) | Owl-eye intranuclear + cytoplasmic inclusions; cytomegaly |
| Rabies | Brainstem, hippocampus, Purkinje cells | Negri bodies (eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions) |
| HIV encephalitis | Deep white matter/basal ganglia | Microglial nodules + multinucleated giant cells |
| SSPE (measles) | Cortex + white matter, years after measles | Cowdry A intranuclear inclusions; neurofibrillary change |
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