Immunopathology - Week 1 - Terminology Flashcards
What are the definitions of the following terms:
Aetiology
Pathogensis
Pathognomic
Morphology
Aetiology: The cause of a disease.
Pathogensis: How the aetiology brings about the disease .
Pathognomic: An abnormality which is characteristic only of that disease or condition eg “Koplik spots’ seen on the buccal mucosa in measles.
Morphology: The features which are seen with the naked eye or via the microscope.
What are the definitions of the following terms:
-Clinical Manifestations (Clinical Features)
- Natural history of disease
- Predisposing factor
- Complication
Clinical Manifestations (Clinical Features):
The symptoms and signs with which a disease presents.
Natural history of disease:
A description of the natural progress of a disease which is left untreated.
Predisposing factor:
A factor that makes the body more susceptible to a disease and may alter the course of the disease.
Complication:
The possible consequences of a disease, if restitution of normal structure and function does not occur. It may also refer to the negative consequences resulting from treatment of the disease.
What are the definitions of the following terms:
- Prevention
- Prognosis
- Morbidity
- Mortality
Prevention
* Activities which aim to stop the development of a disease or prevent it from worsening. May be primary, secondary or tertiary.
Prognosis
* The likely outcome of a disease.
Morbidity
* Refers to the amount of ill health caused by a disease
Mortality
* Refers to the loss of life caused by the disease.
Answer the following questions:
Select from the key the term which best fits:
KEY:
1. Pathology
2. Health
3. Disease
4. Illness
a. A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing
b. The medical specialty concerned with the nature and causes of disease
c. An individual’s personal experience of their disease
d. The part of the body which is damaged (2 possible answers here)
e. Structural or functional deviations from normal (2 possible answers)
a. A state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing
ANSWER: Health
b. The medical specialty concerned with the nature and causes of disease
ANSWER: Pathology
c. An individual’s personal experience of their disease
ANSWER: Illness
d. The part of the body which is damaged (2 possible answers here)
ANSWER: Disease and Pathology
e. Structural or functional deviations from normal (2 possible answers)
ANSWER: Pathology and Disease
Which 2 terms listed in the key have a significant overlap with their meaning?
ANSWER: Disease and Pathology
What are the definitions of the following terms:
Lesion
Localized disease
Widespread disease
Systemic disease
Multi-system disease
Lesion
* This is the part of tissue directly affected by the disease process
Localized disease
* A limited area of tissue is involved in the disease process
Widespread disease
* More extensive areas of tissue are affected by the disease process
Systemic disease
* Most of the body is affected, although it may be due to a virus spreading in the
blood causing fever, pains and generally feeling unwell.
Multi-system disease * a number of body systems are involved in the disease process.
What are the definitions of the following terms:
Acute disease
Chronic disease
Acute disease
* A disorder which is reasonably severe or
* A disorder which is characterised by a sudden onset and termination
(either by recovery or death)
Chronic disease
* A disorder which is characterised by a gradual onset and long duration. Its
clinical course may be continuous or marked by fluctuations of severity.
What are the definitions of the following terms:
Intermittent disease
Remission
Relapse
Intermittent disease
* Disease undergoes ‘cycles’ of appearing and disappearing
Remission
* A temporary or permanent decrease in the severity of a disease
Relapse
* A return of the disease
What are the definitions of the following terms:
Mild disease
Moderate disease
Severe disease
Grave disease
Mild disease
* There is minimal disruption
Moderate disease
* More tissue is affected, thus it is a more serious disease
Severe disease
* There is considerable disruption
Grave disease
* Usually fatal outcomes
What are the definitions of the following terms:
Diagnosis
Differential Diagnosis
Diagnosis
* The art of distinguishing one disease from another and the
identification of a disease or condition, by a scientific evaluation
of symptoms, signs and laboratory tests
Differential Diagnosis
* The determination of a list of possible diseases, by evaluating
symptoms, signs and laboratory tests
What are the definitions of the following terms:
Symptom
Sign
Syndrome
Investigations
Symptom
* Perceptions of the patient which may indicate a disorder of the body, mind or
emotions.
Sign
* Refers to objective evidence of a disorder of body, mind or emotion, attained
through physical examination.
Syndrome
* A cluster of symptoms and signs that consistently occur together
Investigations
* This is part of the process of determining the cause of a patient’s problem. It may
include the analysis of the patient’s body fluids (e.g blood) or tissue (biopsy), taking an image of a body part (e.g X-ray, ultrasound, computerised tomography, magnetic resonance imaging), visualising a body part (endoscopy), measuring electrical activity
in the body (e.g ECG, EEG) as well as many others.
What are the basic techniques of pathology?
Gross pathology
* Macroscopic or naked eye
examination
Light microscopy
* Cut sections from tissues
are embedded, sectioned,
stained and viewed under
microscopy. It is aided by
the use of special stains
and chemicals.
Electron microscopy
* Study the changes at ultracellular level. High
resolution images are formed, using a beam of
electrons passing through a specimen.
* E.g viewing cell organels such as mithocondria,
ribosomes, Endoplasmic reticulum etc
Cell cultures
* Organisms are artificially grown in controlled
environment. Used for diagnostic or research
purposes
What is the structural organisation of the body?
CHEMICALS
CELL
* Is formed by In various combinations of
chemicals
TISSUE
* Is formed by a group of similar cells
ORGAN
* Is formed by two or more different
tissues grouped together
BODY SYSTEM
* Organs grouped together to form a
common function to create a body
system
What are the pathology sub-divisions?
General pathology
* Study of the underlying mechanisms of disease. It focuses on the changes in
the structure and function at the levels of molecules, cells and tissue.
Systemic pathology
* The study of disease as it occurs within particular organ system.
Cytopathology
* Study of disease on a cellular level. Cells may be obtained by aspiration (e.g
fine needle), scrapings, biopsies or fluids taken from patients.
Pathophysiology
* “The physiology of abnormal states specifically the functional changes that
accompany a particular syndrome or disease”
