3. What is a Cock’s peculiar tumour?
Correct answer: This is when a sebaceous cyst ulcerates, to resemble a fungating carcinoma
2. Can a sebaceous cyst undergo malignant change?
Correct answer: Yes, but this is very rare.
1. What is a sebaceous cyst?
Correct answer: A sebaceous cyst (epidermoid cyst or wen) is a retention cyst produced by obstruction to the mouth of a sebaceous gland. Therefore sebaceous cysts may occur wherever sebaceous glands exist and are not found on the gland-free palms…
13. What is the stress reaction following a burn?
Correct answer: The adrenocortical response of sodium and water retention, potassium loss and protein catabolism occurs as in any severe injury. Peptic ulceration (Curling’s ulcers) may occur as a reaction to stress.
12. What is the effect of burn on the airway?
Correct answer: Smoke inhalation or thermal injury of the respiratory tract may rapidly result in respiratory obstruction from pharyngeal or laryngeal oedema and is a common cause of death.
11. Why might a patient become anaemic following a burn?
Correct answer: This results partly from destruction of red cells within involved skin capillaries and partly from toxic inhibition of bone marrow if infection of the burnt area occurs.
10. Why do people get hypovolaemic shock following burns?
Correct answer: Shock is a direct result of plasma loss. The intravascular volume is rapidly depleted as plasma is lost from the surface of the burn.
9. How long following a burn is the most plasma lost?
Correct answer: During the first 24 hours.
8. What characteristic of a burn is most related to the severity of plasma loss?
Correct answer: The loss of plasma is proportional to the area of the burn, not the depth.
7. How does the thickness of a burn relate to the severity of pain?
Correct answer: Pain is due to stimulation of numerous nerve endings in the damaged skin. It is more severe in superficial and, indeed, deep burns may be relatively painless, owing to extensive destruction of nerve endings.
