Ch. 15 Medical Overview Flashcards
Communicable disease
A disease that can be spread from one person or species to another.
Epidemic
Occurs when new cases of a disease in a human population substantially exceed the number of expected based on recent experience.
Herpes Simplex
A common virus that is asymptomatic in 80% of the people carrying it, but characterized by small blisters on the lips or genigals in symptomatic infections.
Index of suspicion
Awareness that unseen life-threatening injuries or illness may exeist.
Infectious disease
A medical condition caused by the growth and spread of small, harmful organisms within the body.
Influenza
A virus that has crossed the animal/human barrier and infected humans and that kills thousands of humans every year.
Medical emergencies
Emergencies that are not caused by an outside force; illnesses or conditions.
Menigococcal meningitis
An inflammation of the meningial coverings of the brain and spinal cord; can be highly contagious.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
A bacterium that can cause infections in different parts of the body and is often resistant to commonly used antibiotics; it is transmitted by different routes, including the respiratory route, and can be found on the skin, in surgical wounds, in the bloodstream, lungs, and urinary tract.
Nature of illness (NOI)
The general type of illness a patient is experiencing.
Pandemic
An outbreak that occurs on a global scale.
Trauma emergencies
Emergencies that are the result of physical forces applied to the body; injuries.
Tuberculosis
A chronic bacterial disease, caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis, that usually affects the lungs but can also affect other organs such as the brain and kidneys; it is spread by cough and can lie dormant in a person’s lungs for decades and then reactivate.
Virulence
The strength or ability of a pathogen to produce disease.
