1 - Intro Flashcards
Pathology
Study of:
- The nature of the disease
- The cause of the disease
- The condition produced by the disease
Pathophysiology
Study of how normal physiological processes are altered by disease
Diagnosis
Identification of a specific disease through the evaluation of signs and symptoms, lab tests, imaging tests etc.
Prognosis
Refers to probability for recovery
(prediction or forecast regarding the possible outcome of the course and the end of the disease)
Etiology
Cause of disease. EG congenital defects, inherited, malignancy, trauma, etc. *may be one or several
Iatrogenic
Disease caused by
the treatment/activities of a
physician or surgeon. (Medical
treatment). EG bladder infection after catheterization.
Idiopathic
Cause of the disease is unknown.
Predisposing factors
Susceptibility to disease or
indicating a high risk for a
disease. EG occupational
exposure
Precipitating factors
Condition/circumstance that
triggers an acute episode
Prevention
Keeping an illness from happening (vaccines, diet, lifestyle)
Pathogenesis
Development of the disease, “sequence of events” - tissue changes
Acute
Sudden onset of disease or
short termed (often with high fever, pain) EG appendicitis
Chronic
Often a milder condition but with a longer term (can have acute episodes) EG arthritis
Latent/incubation period
Initial stage of disease, no clinical signs
- Stage between exposure to microorganism (or
mechanism of damage) and the onset of signs and symptoms
Prodromal Period
Refers to the time during the early development of a disease when one is aware of a change in the body, but signs are non-
specific. (EG fatigue, loss of appetite)
Signs
Objective indicators of disease that are obvious to someone else other than the affected individual. (EG rash, fever)
Symptoms
Subjective feelings/abnormality only felt by the affected individual (EG headache, nausea)
Syndrome
Collection of signs and symptoms that occur together in characteristic patterns. (EG down syndrome)
Manifestations of a disease
Clinical evidence or effect of a disease (signs and symptoms). Can be local or systemic.
Lesion
Structural chance or a specific local change in tissue, microscopic or visible. (EG tumour in liver)
Biopsy
Removal of a small piece of living tissue for microscopic examination to determine diagnosis
Autopsy
Postmortem examination of the organs and tissues of a body by a pathologist to determine cause of death.
Remission
During course of disease the manifestations have subsided
Exacerbation
Signs of the disease have increased
