A.1. Health Concepts Flashcards
Outline the main concepts of physiology, anatomy, pathology, and the different levels of biological organisation.
What are the challenges in defining and measuring health and ill health?
They encompass a wide range of experiences and events, and their interpretation may be relative to social norms and context.
How do Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people view health?
Health includes social, emotional, and cultural wellbeing of the whole community, not just physical wellbeing.
What does the World Health Organization (WHO) define health as?
A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Since what year has the WHO definition of health remained unchanged?
1948.
What perspective does the social model of health take?
Health and illness are generated in a societal context.
What does the social model of health focus on?
Addressing broader determinants of health, inter-sectoral collaboration, reducing social inequities, empowering communities, and removing barriers to healthcare access.
Fill in the blank: The health of community land plays a vital role in determining the health of the _______.
[people themselves].
True or False: The WHO definition of health emphasizes merely the absence of disease.
False.
What is a key aspect of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective on health?
A whole-of-life view that includes the cyclical concept of life-death-life.
What are some examples of broader determinants of health mentioned?
- Social environment
- Economic environment
What does the social model of health aim to reduce?
Social inequities.
What role does inter-sectoral collaboration play in the social model of health?
It involves working with a wide range of partners to improve health outcomes.
What does a strictly biomedical view of health focus on?
The presence or absence of disease
It assumes that disease occurs because of physical abnormalities in the body.
What is the assumption behind the biomedical model regarding disease treatment?
Understanding causal processes of a disease leads to appropriate treatments
Remove the symptoms, and the patient ceases to suffer; remove the cause, and the patient recovers.
How prevalent is the strictly biomedical model in Australia today compared to 20-25 years ago?
Far less prevalent
Indicates a shift in health perspectives over time.
What does the ecological model of health consider?
The reciprocal relationship between health-related behaviours and environments
Behaviour does not occur in a vacuum.
What are the components of the environment in the ecological model?
Micro, meso, exo, macro, and chrono subsystems
Emphasises relationships and dependencies among these subsystems.
What is a key aspect of Eastern medicine’s approach to health?
A more holistic approach
Emphasises interconnectedness among people, their health, and the universe.
What concepts are fundamental to Ayurvedic medicine?
Universal interconnectedness, body’s constitution, and life forces
Ayurvedic physicians prescribe individualized treatments based on these concepts.
What does Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) emphasize about the body?
The body is an integrated whole
Includes mind, emotions, spirit, and physical body structures powered by a life force.
How does TCM view the relationship between people and nature?
People are connected to nature, and changes in nature affect the body
Highlights the interdependence between individuals and their environment.
What is the microsystem in the ecological model?
The subsystem closest to the person concerned
Example: immediate family.
What does the mesosystem refer to?
The interaction between immediate systems
Example: family and workplace.
What is the exosystem in the ecological model?
Social systems that may influence the person without direct interaction
Example: neighbourhood or employment context.
What does the macrosystem encompass?
Cultural values, customs, and laws within which social systems exist
Reflects broader societal influences.
What does the chronosystem refer to?
The time dimension affecting health
Example: physiological changes that occur with aging.
What are complementary medicines?
A broad definition that includes herbal therapies, vitamin and mineral supplements, other nutritional supplements, homoeopathic medicines, and traditional medicines such as Ayurvedic, Traditional Chinese and Australian Indigenous.
Complementary medicines play a significant role in healthcare delivery in Australia today, with around two-thirds of Australians using them regularly.
Define Participatory Health/Medicine.
An evolving healthcare model where patients and health professionals actively collaborate and encourage one another as full partners in healthcare.
According to the Society for Participatory Medicine.
What is the relationship between welfare issues and health?
Welfare issues such as aged care, disability, and homelessness are health issues, and health status and access to health services need to be understood in terms of social conditions.
This is supported by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
How does health informatics relate to health models?
Health informatics measures and assimilates data based on the health model subscribed to by health service providers, affecting the breadth of data collected.
For example, Traditional Chinese Medicine will have different measurement domains compared to a strict biomedical view.
What is the difference between illness and disease?
Illness is a response to a condition, feeling unwell, while disease refers to a physical or mental disturbance involving symptoms or dysfunction.
An example is having a hangover (illness) without a disease.
List the categories of diseases.
- Acute
- Chronic
- Pathogenic
- Deficiency
- Hereditary
- Physiological
These categories are used to classify diseases based on their characteristics.
What characterizes acute diseases?
Disorders with sudden onset and relatively short duration of symptoms.
Examples include a cold or a sudden injury.
What are chronic diseases?
Long-term conditions associated with lifestyle, genetics, environment, involving complex causality and multiple risk factors.
Examples include diabetes and heart disease.
Define pathogenic diseases.
Diseases caused by pathogens, which can be infectious and spread through contact with infected individuals or vectors.
Examples include measles and Covid-19.
What causes deficiency diseases?
Lack or shortage of necessary supply or function within the human body, often associated with poor nutrition or genetic disorders.
An example is scurvy, caused by a lack of vitamin C.
What defines hereditary diseases?
Diseases caused by abnormalities in genetic material that are passed down through generations within the same family.
Cystic Fibrosis is an example.
What are physiological diseases?
Diseases that occur when normal body functions are disrupted due to organ malfunction or changes in cell structure.
An example is Crohn’s Disease.
What is an advanced illness?
A condition that becomes severe enough that general health and functioning decline.
This term is often used in palliative care contexts.
What is a disorder in medical terms?
A functional abnormality or disturbance, which can be categorized into mental, physical, genetic, emotional/behavioral, and functional domains.
Examples include anxiety disorders and diabetes.
What is the definition of an epidemic?
A situation where disease incidence in a defined area is substantially higher than usual.
This affects an above-average proportion of the population.
Define pandemic.
The worldwide spread of a new disease.
Covid-19 is an example of a pandemic.
What does morbid mean?
A term used to describe any form of ill health or the impact level of a disease on a patient’s life.
An example is morbid obesity.
What is morphology?
A branch of biology dealing with the form and structure of organisms and their specific structural features.
It encompasses both plant and animal morphology.
What are the six levels of biological organization in the human body?
- Atomic (or chemical) level
- Cellular level
- Tissue level
- Organ level
- Organ system level
- Organismal level
These levels describe the complexity of structures in the human body.
What comprises the musculoskeletal system?
The muscle and skeletal systems, which shape and support the body, protect organs, and enable movement.
It includes over 200 bones and various connective tissues.
What are the types of muscle tissue?
- Skeletal
- Smooth
- Cardiac
Skeletal muscles are under conscious control, while smooth and cardiac muscles are involuntary.
What is the function of the integumentary system?
It covers the body and includes skin, hair, nails, and glands, providing structure and protection.
It acts as a sensory interface with the outside world.
What is the role of the nervous system?
It transmits, receives, and processes nerve impulses that direct actions of muscles and organs.
It consists of the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems.
What is the main function of the circulatory system?
To transport blood throughout the body.
The heart pumps oxygenated blood via arteries, and de-oxygenated blood is returned to the heart.
What does the respiratory system do?
Supplies blood with oxygen and removes carbon dioxide through breathing.
It includes the nose, lungs, and trachea.
What is the digestive system responsible for?
Breaking down food into nutrients needed for energy, growth, and repair.
It includes the gastrointestinal tract and accessory organs like the liver and pancreas.
What is the anus?
It is the connected set of passages through which food enters and waste leaves the body.
What role do bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract play?
They help with digestion.
What does the digestive system break nutrients down into?
Carbohydrates, protein, fats, and vitamins.
What happens to food as it passes through the gastrointestinal tract?
It mixes with digestive juices, breaking down large food molecules into smaller molecules.
What is the function of the endocrine system?
It regulates the body’s growth, metabolism, sexual development, and function through hormones.
Name three glands included in the endocrine system.
- Pituitary
- Thyroid
- Pancreas
How do the effects of the endocrine system compare to the nervous system?
Endocrine effects can take from a few hours to weeks, while nervous system responses are immediate.
What is the main function of the immune system?
It fights infection from bacteria, viruses, and other microbes.
What are the three types of response systems in the immune system?
- Anatomic response
- Inflammatory system
- Immune response
What does the anatomic response do?
It attempts to prevent threatening substances from entering the body physically.
What is the role of lymphocytes in the immune response?
They produce antibodies that help remove foreign antigens.
What is the lymphatic system responsible for?
It drains fluid from tissues and helps in the immune response.
Define viruses.
Small infectious agents that replicate only inside the living cells of other organisms.
What are antigens?
Any substance capable of triggering an immune response.
What is the primary function of the male reproductive system?
To provide spermatozoa for fertilization of the ovum.
What hormone is released by the pituitary gland to stimulate ova development?
A hormone that stimulates some ova to develop and grow.
What is the main function of the urinary system?
To eliminate waste from the body in the form of urine.
What are the components of the urinary system?
- Kidneys
- Bladder
- Ureters
- Urethra
What does homeostasis refer to?
The ability of the body or a cell to maintain a condition of equilibrium within its internal environment.
What is thermoregulation?
Maintenance of a near-constant body temperature of around 37 degrees Celsius.
What is the function of insulin and glucagon?
They regulate blood glucose levels.
What diseases can result from a homeostatic imbalance?
- Diabetes
- Dehydration
- Hypoglycaemia
- Hyperglycaemia
- Gout
What does anatomy study?
The structure of body parts and their relationships.
What does physiology study?
The function of body parts: how they work and carry out tasks.
What is the principle of complementarity of structure and function?
Function is dependent on structure.
Define biochemistry.
The study of the chemical processes within and relating to organisms.
What is metabolism?
The chemical transformations by which cells harness energy from their environment.
What is genetics concerned with?
The processes of trait inheritance and variation in living organisms.
What are the two sub-types of anatomy?
- Gross anatomy
- Microscopic anatomy
What does renal physiology study?
Kidney function and the production of urine.
What does cardiovascular physiology study?
The functioning of the heart and blood vessels.
Define homeostasis.
The ability of the body to maintain stable internal conditions despite external changes.
What is genetics?
The study of heredity, concerned with trait inheritance, genes, and their variation.
How many pairs of chromosomes do humans have?
23 pairs of chromosomes (46 chromosomes total).
What are autosomes?
Chromosomes 1 to 22 that are common to both sexes.
What are the sex chromosomes in humans?
X and Y chromosomes.
How many chromosomes do females have?
46 chromosomes comprised of 44 autosomes and two X chromosomes.
What is the male chromosome composition?
44 autosomes, one X chromosome, and one Y chromosome.
What is a gene?
A piece of genetic information, also referred to as a unit of heredity.
How many genes are estimated to be in the human genome?
About 20,500 genes.
What is the Human Genome Project?
An international collaborative research program to map all human genes.
What does CRISPR stand for?
Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.
What is genome editing?
The process of inserting, deleting, or replacing DNA in an organism’s genome.
What is personalised medicine?
An evolving field where physicians use diagnostic tests to tailor medical treatments to individual patients.
What is pharmacogenetics?
The study of how genes affect a person’s response to drugs.
What are the three learning areas in the Australian Curriculum Framework for Junior Doctors?
- Clinical management
- Professionalism
- Communication
What does clinical management encompass?
- Patient assessment
- Safe patient care
- Emergencies
- Patient management
- Skills and procedures
What is involved in professionalism for doctors?
- Professional behaviour
- Teaching, learning, and supervision
What topics are typically included in nursing studies?
- Health and human biology
- Nursing knowledge and practice
- Understanding experiences of illness
- Mental health
- Community health nursing
What is a typical study subject for Occupational Therapists?
- Functional Human Anatomy
- Health and rehabilitation
- Neuroscience for health practice
What is included in a Master of Public Health curriculum?
- Biostatistics
- Health services research
- Social determinants of health
- Epidemiology
- Health law and bioethics
True or False: Most health professionals learn about health informatics during their undergraduate education.
False
Fill in the blank: The collective of all genes is called the _______.
genome
What ethical concerns are associated with genome editing?
Substantial ethical concerns exist regarding its application.
How does personalised medicine improve healthcare?
By providing more accurate diagnosis and effective treatment based on genetic understanding.
