14.0 Module Overview

ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY II · MODULE 14

The acute-phase response as a slow fuse

Reactive thrombocytosis, years of raised inflammatory markers, and one red-cell finding that fits nothing. Filed separately they look like odd, harmless labs. This module builds blood and reads them as one sustained alarm.

Stina’s chronic labs have a shape: platelets reactive and high, markers up for years, and an inappropriately high erythropoietin that nobody could place. Each was noted; none was chased.

The acute-phase response is meant to be brief. Hers never switched off, and serum amyloid A has been produced faithfully the whole time — a slow fuse, quietly seeding the amyloid that will surface in her gut and her kidneys. One red-cell finding, meanwhile, points somewhere else entirely.

PATIENT CHART · STINA · CHART CLUE #14

  • Years — Inflammatory markers elevated
  • Labs — Reactive thrombocytosis
  • Labs — Inappropriately high EPO
  • Consequence — SAA feeding amyloid

Each part opens with a finding from Stina’s chart and asks you to commit to a prediction before any video plays, then alternates short videos with H5P activities. Work them in order.

14.1

Resetting Set Points

The bridge from hormones into the tissue that carries them.

TRANSITION

OPEN →

14.2

The Red Cell Finding That Fits Nothing

One count that points outside the main story.

ERYTHROCYTOSIS

OPEN →

14.3

What’s in Blood

Plasma, formed elements, and what each does.

BLOOD COMPOSITION

OPEN →

14.4

Making and Recycling Red Cells

Erythropoiesis, iron, and the EPO signal.

ERYTHROPOIESIS

OPEN →

14.5

The Clotting Story

Hemostasis, platelets, and flare-time thrombocytosis.

HEMOSTASIS

OPEN →

14.6

The Defenders

The five leukocytes and what they are for.

LEUKOCYTES

OPEN →

14.7

The Acute-Phase Alarm

A response that never switched off.

CHART CLUE #14

OPEN →

The Evidence Behind the Case

Every step of this module’s reasoning, paired with the peer-reviewed literature behind it.

REFERENCES

OPEN →

By the end of Module 14 you will be able to:

1

Describe the composition of blood and the functions of plasma and formed elements.

2

Explain erythropoiesis, the role of erythropoietin, and iron handling.

3

Identify the five leukocytes and describe their roles in defense.

4

Describe hemostasis from vascular spasm through clot retraction.

5

Explain the acute-phase response and the behavior of its markers.

6

Relate sustained serum amyloid A production to AA amyloid deposition.

List of terms