Exam 1 Flashcards
Define Pathology
The study of disease. The study of suffering and illness. Study of structural and functional changes in cells, tissues, and organs of the body that are cause or are caused by disease.
Define Disease
The pattern of response of living organism to injury. When cells fail to adapt to the injury or the adaptive mechanism itself becomes harmful, disease results.
Define Signs
Objective evidence of disease (e.g. blood in stool). May also be called physical sign.
Define Symptoms
Subjective evidence of disease (e.g. “I am having abdominal pain”). Described by the patient. Also called clinical symptoms (e.g. pain, dizziness, nausea).
Define Etiology
The cause of a disease process (e.g. lung cancer can be caused by smoking - this is the etiology of lung cancer). Also include biologic agents, chemical agents, or physical forces.
Define Pathogenesis
The development of a given disease. The sequence of cellular events that take place from time of initial contact until expression of the disease. The mechanism of how a disease evolves until it becomes manifest (e.g. smoking causes a coating in your lungs, which gets into the DNA of the lung cells and causes mutations which cause cancer).
Define Manifestations
The changes in structure and function of tissues, organs and system characteristic of disease (both gross anatomic and microscopic changes).
Define Sequelae and Complications
The secondary consequences of a disease.
Define Prognosis
The anticipated course of disease and final outcome (cure, remission, morbidity or mortality)
Define Epidemiology (incidence and prevalence).
The study of disease in population. Within populations we can look for patterns in disease or study risk factors that predispose to disease.
The incidence represents the number of new cases arising in a population over a given time period, and prevalence is the total number of cases (new and existing cases) of the disease in a given population.
Define Morbidity
Illness that impairs the well-being and normal function of a patient (living with disease).
Define Mortality
Illness causing the death of a patient (death from disease).
What was the leading cause of death in Canada in 2018?
Cancer
What are the two categories of disease causes, explain:
Genetic causes: inherited genetic defects.
Environmental causes: exposure to cause of disease
*Diseases result from a variable interaction between the host (i.e. genetic and environmental factors).
Define Iatrogenic
Complications (adverse event) from treatment. Unintended injuries, or complications resulting in death, disability or prolonged hospital stay that arise from health care management.
Define Idiopathic
Of unknown etiology (cause of disease).
What are the different categories of environmental causes of disease? Give examples of each.
- Physical agents: mechanical trauma (e.g. cuts), temperature (e.g. burns, frostbite, heatstroke), electrical burns (e.g. lightning), radiation, atmospheric pressure (e.g. deep water diving).
- Chemical agents: environmental or industrial exposure (e.g. asbestos), poisons/ toxins, drugs, iatrogenic disease, infections, and allergens.
List the current techniques of pathology
Gross pathology, light microscopic examination and electron microscopy, immunohistochemistry, and molecular testing.
Describe gross pathology
Technique which looks at the big picture, e.g. a whole organ, tissue, etc. Visual observations and descriptions (naked eye examination)
Describe light and electron microscopy
Look at sections under a microscope (standard stains: hematoxylin - blue : stains DNA / nucleus, eosin - pink : stains extracellular matrix and cytoplasm
Describe immunohistochemistry
Investigations of disease at the cellular level (e.g. shows a specific protein) - primary antibody recognizes antigen, then secondary antibody recognizes primary antibody - HRB on secondary antibody turns brown (stain = dab).
Describe molecular testing
Analysis of DNA, RNA and protein. Sequence genes. Investigation of disease at the molecular level. e.g. chromosomal analysis.
What does alternative classification of disease mean?
What are the alternative classifications?
More detailed classification of disease based on the pathogenesis or disease process.
-Injury
-Inflammation
-Infection
-Immunological reaction
-Neoplasia
-Metabolic or endocrine
-Nutritional
-Vascular disease
-Psychological factors
Describe injury alternative classification of disease
Due to physical or chemical agent(s). At the cellular level, injury injury may be reversible and the cell/ tissue survives or adapts (atrophy, hypertrophy, hyperplasia), or irreversible leading to the death and degeneration of the cell.