43: Geriatric Emergencies Flashcards by Jereme Tibbitts

Scientific study of the effects of aging and of age-related disease on humans.

Gerontology

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An elderly person age 80 or older.

Old-Old

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The study and treatment of diseases of the aged.

Geriatrics

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Discrimination against aged or elderly people.

Ageism

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Decreased ability to meet daily needs on an independent basis.

Functional Impairment

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Having more than one disease at a time.

Comorbidity

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Inability to swallow or difficulty swallowing.

Dysphagia

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Multiple drug therapy in which there is a concurrent use of a number of drugs.

Polypharmacy

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Inability to retain urine or feces because of loss of sphincter control or cerebral or spinal lesions.

Incontinence

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Reversible interruption of blood flow the brain; often seen as a precursor to a stroke.

Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA)

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Eating disorder marked by excessive fasting.

Anorexia Nervosa

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Medical condition in which the lens of the eye loses its clearness.

Cataracts

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Medical condition where the pressure within the eye increases.

Glaucoma

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Subjective ringing or tingling sound in the ear.

Tinnitus

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A disease of the inner ear characterized by vertigo, nerve deafness, and a roar or buzzing in the ear.

Meniere’s Disease

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Exaggeration of the normal posterior curvature of the spine.

Kyphosis

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An oxygen deficiency due to disordered pulmonary mechanisms of oxygenation.

Anoxic Hypoxemia

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An increase in the size or bulk of an organ.

Hypertrophy

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The formation of fiber like connective tissue, also called scar tissue, in an organ.

Fibrosis

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Hereditary condition of connective tissue, bones muscles, ligaments, and skeletal structures characterized by irregular and unsteady gait, tall lean body type with long extremities, flat feet, and stooped shoulders.

Marfan Syndrome

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Protrusion of the stomach upward into the mediastinal cavity through the esophageal hiatus of the diaphragm.

Hiatal Hernia

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Softening of the bone tissue due to the loss of essential minerals, principally calcium.

Osteoporosis

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The functional units of the kidneys.

Nephrons

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Diminished vigor of the immune response to the challenge and re-challenge by pathogens.

Immune Senescence

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A myocardial infarction that occurs without exhibiting obvious signs and symptoms.

Silent myocardial infarction

The number of pillows-in this case two- needed to ease the difficulty of breathing while lying down; a significant factor in assessing the level of respiratory distress.

Two-pillow orthopnea

Excessive urination during the night.

Nocturia

Enlarged liver

Hepatomegaly

A degeneration of the wall of the aorta.

Aortic Dissection

Abnormal dilation of a blood vessel, usually an artery, due to a congenital defect or a weakness in the wall of the vessel.

Aneurysm

An abnormal dilation of a vein of group of veins.

Varicosites

Nose Bleed

Epistaxis

An abnormality of the involuntary aspect of the nervous system.

Autonomic Dysfuntion

Forced exhalation against a closed glottis, such as with coughing. This maneuver stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system via the vagus nerve, which in turn slows the heart rate.

Valsalva Maneuver

A series of symptoms resulting from heart block, most commonly syncope. The symptoms result from decreased blood flow to the brain caused by the sudden decrease in cardiac output.

Stokes Adams syndrome

A group of disorders characterized by dysfunction of the sinoatrial node in the heart.

Sick Sinus Syndrome

Injury to or death of brain tissue resulting from interruption of cerebral blood flow and oxygenation.

Stroke

Injury to brain tissues caused by an inadequate supply of oxygen and nutrients.

Brain Ischemia

Bleeding that occurs between the arachnoid and dura mater of the brain.

Subarachnoid Hemorrhage

Bleeding directly into the brain.

Intracranial Hemorrhage

An excessive amount of red blood cells.

Polycythemia

The sensation of faintness or dizziness; may cause a loss of balance.

Vertigo

Resistant to cure, relief, or control.

Intractable

A deterioration of mental status that is usually associated with structural neurologic disease. Its often progressive and irreversible.

Dimentia

An acute alteration in mental function that is often reversible.

Delirium

General term used to describe an abnormal decline in mental functioning seen in the elderly; also called "organic brain syndrom" or Multi-infarct dementia".

Senile Dementia

Absence of impairment of the ability to communicate through speaking, writing, or signing as a result of brain dysfunction.

aphasia

A progressive, degenerative disease that attacks the brain and results in impaired memory, thinking, and behavior. It affects 4 million american adults.

Alzheimer's Disease

Chronic, degenerative nervous disease characterized by tremors, muscular weakness and rigidity, and a loss of postural reflexes.

Parkinson's Disease

Chronic orthostatic hypotension caused by a primary autonomic nervous system deficiency.

Shy-Drager Syndrome

An involuntary tremor, usually in one hand or sometimes in both, in which fingers move as if they were rolling a pill back and forth.

Pill-Rolling Motion

Any disorder of the retina.

Retinopathy

Death of tissue in the peritoneal fold (mesentery) that encircles the small intestine; a life threatening condition.

Mesenteric Infarct

A dark tarry stool caused by the presence of digested free blood.

Melena

Ischemic damage and subsequent necrosis affecting the skin, subcutaneous tissue and often the muscle; result of intense pressure over a long time; also known as pressure sore or bedsore.

Pressure ulcer

Itching; often occurs as a symptom of some systemic change or illness.

Puritis

An acute eruption caused by a reactive of latent varicella virus in the dorsal root ganglia; also known as shingles.

Herpes Zoster

Process of softening a solid by soaking it in a liquid.

Maceration

A degenerative joint disease, characterized by a loss of articular cartilage and hypertrophy of the bone.

Osteoarthritis

A form of nephritis, or inflammation of the kidneys; primarily involves the glomeruli, one of the capillary networks that are part of the renal corpuscles in the nephrons.

Glomerulonephritis

Septicemia originating from the urinary tract.

Urosepsis

Life threatening condition caused by a disturbance in temperature regulation; in the elderly, characterized by extreme fever and, in extreme cases, delirium or coma.

Heatstroke

An abnormal concern with ones health, with the false belief of suffering from some disease, despite medical assurances to the contrary, commonly known as Hypochondria.

Hypochonriasis

An exaggerated feeling of depression or unrest, characterized by a mood of general dissatisfaction, restlessness, discomfort, and unhappiness.

Dysphoria

A degeneration of the vertebral body.

Spondylosis