Disease Introduction

Question 1

What is disease?

Answer 1

• Absence of health
• Dyshomeostasis
• An imbalance
• Abnormal structure and function

Question 2

What are the 3 parts of the Epidemiologic triad?

Answer 2

• Host
• Pathogen
• Environment

Question 3

What are the host factors affecting disease?

Answer 3

• Species
• Heredity
• Age
• Gender
• Host response mechanisms
  
  • Immunity and inflammation
  • Healing, repair, adaptation
• Anatomic barriers
• Microbiome
• Mental status

Question 4

What are the environmental factors affecting disease?

Answer 4

• Management conditions
• Location
• Climate
  
  • Temperature
  • Humidity
  • Extremes
• Nutrition
• Water
• Humans

Question 5

What are the etiologic factors affecting disease?

Answer 5

• Physical injury
• Chemicals
• Disease agents/Pathogens
  
  • Microorganisms
  • Chemicals (nutrients)
  • Chemicals (toxins)
  • Physical factors

Question 6

What are the outcomes of disease?

Answer 6

• Return to health
• Ongoing disease
• Death

Question 7

How are Diseases investigated?

Answer 7

• Ecosystems (environmental health)
• Populations (epidemiology)
• Animal (Clinical signs)
• Organs and Tissues (Gross Pathology)
• Cellular (Microscopic pathology)
• Chemical (Clinical Pathology)
• Molecular (Molecular pathology)
• Etiology (Cause)

Question 8

What is Pathology?

Answer 8

• Study of the cause and effects of disease
• Pathology is understanding the impact of an insult on:
  
  • Animals (clinical signs)
  • Organs and Tissues (Gross pathology)
  • Cells (Microscopic pathology)
  • Chemicals (Clinical pahtology)
  • Molecules (Molecular pathology)
• Bridge between basic and clinical sciences
  
  • Examines the onset and progression of disease (pathogenesis)
  • Forms the basis for clinical practice

Question 9

What are the Key elements of Pathology?

Answer 9

• Understanding normal
• Pathology is a continuous process
• Host responses are highly interrelated
• Terminology is important
• The cell is the fundamental unit of pathology
• Pathology occurs in recognizable patterns

Question 10

What are some of the key features of a normal cat kidney?

Answer 10

• Capsular blood vessels
• Cortex
• Medulla
• Renal Pelvis

Question 11

What are the internal structures of a kidney?

Answer 11

• Henle’s loops
• Glomerulus
• Proximal tubule
• Distal tubule

Question 12

What are the normal functions of a kidney?

Answer 12

• Eliminate waste products
• Regulate acid-base balance
• Regulate electrolytes
• Conserve water
• Produce hormones

Question 13

What is chronic renal failure?

Answer 13

• The implications of a failing kidney go beyond the kidney
• Other possible problems:
  
  • Pulmonary edema
  • Ulcerative stomatitis and gastritis
  • Soft tissue mineralization
  • Fibrous osteodystrophy

Question 14

What is lymphosarcoma?

Answer 14

• Neoplastic proliferation of lymphocytes
• Common neoplasm of cats
• Often multisystemic
• Often Feline-leukemia virus associated

Question 15

What is pathogenesis?

Answer 15

• The process of initiation and progression of a disease
  
  1. Cause
  2. Functional change
  3. Morphologic change
  4. Clinical signs

Question 16

What is a Diagnosis?

Answer 16

A conclusion about the cause, characteristics, lesions, or name of a disease

Question 17

What are the different types of diagnosis?

Answer 17

• Clinical diagnosis
  
  • “Hyperthyroidism”
• Morphologic diagnosis
  
  • “Thyroid hyperplasia”
• Differential diagnosis
  
  • “Thyroid adenoma”
• Disease (definitive) diagnosis
  
  • “Graves disease”

Question 18

What is the unit of Pathology?

Answer 18

• Cells
• Cells are the building block of tissues and organs
• Cellular disease is reflected in abnormal tissue and organ structure and function

Question 19

What are the basic patterns of pathology?

Answer 19

• Cell alterations and injury
• Vascular disturbances
• Inflammation and repair
• Immunologic disturbances
• Neoplasia
• Developmental disturbances
• Metabolic disturbances