Introduction to Pathophysiology

Question 1

Pathology

Answer 1

is the investigation of structural alterations in cells, tissues, and organs, which can help identify the cause of a particular disease

Question 2

Pathogenesis

Answer 2

is the pattern of tissue changes associated with the development of disease

Question 3

Etiology

Answer 3

refers to the study of the cause of disease

Question 4

Idiopathic

Answer 4

diseases that have no identifiable cause

Question 5

Iatrogenic

Answer 5

diseases that occur as a result of medical treatment

ex. someones antibiotic treatment causes renal failure

Question 6

Nosocomial

Answer 6

diseases that are acquired as a consequence of being a hospital environment

Question 7

Diagnosis

Answer 7

is the naming or identification of a disease

Question 8

Prognosis

Answer 8

is the expected outcome of a disease

Question 9

Acute disease

Answer 9

is the sudden appearance of signs and symptoms that last only a short time

Question 10

Chronic disease

Answer 10

develops more slowly and the signs and symptoms last for a long time, perhaps a lifetime

Question 11

Remission

Answer 11

are periods when symptoms disappear or diminish significantly

Question 12

Exacerbations

Answer 12

are periods when the symptoms become worse or more severe

Question 13

Complication

Answer 13

is the onset of a disease in a person who is already coping with another existing disease

Question 14

Sequelae

Answer 14

are unwanted outcomes of having a disease or the result of trauma, such as paralysis resulting from a strike or severe scarring resulting from a burn

Question 15

Clinical manifestations

Answer 15

are the signs and symptoms or evidence of disease

Question 16

Signs

Answer 16

are objective alterations that can be observed or measured by another person, measures of bodily functions such as pulse, blood pressure, body temp.

Question 17

Local Signs

Answer 17

such as redness or swelling

Question 18

Systemic Signs

Answer 18

such as fever (think whole body)

Question 19

Symptoms

Answer 19

are subjective experiencces reported by the person with disease, such as pain, nausea, or shortness of breathe

Question 20

Prodromal period

Answer 20

is the time during a disease in which a person experience vague symptoms such as fatigue or loss of appetite before the onset of specific signs and symptoms

Question 21

Insidious symptoms

Answer 21

describes vague or nonspecific feelings and an awareness that there is a change within the body

Question 22

Latent period

Answer 22

a time during which no symptoms are readily apparent in the affected person, but the disease is nevertheless present in the body, ex early growth of a tumor

Question 23

Syndrome

Answer 23

is a group of symptoms that occur together and may be caused by several interrelated problems or a specific disease

Question 24

Disorder

Answer 24

is an abnormality of function; this term can also refer to an illness or a particular problem such as a bleeding disorder

Question 25

Epidemiology

Answer 25

is the study of tracking patterns or disease occurrence and transmission among populations and by geographic areas

Question 26

Incidence of a disease

Answer 26

is the number of new cases occurring in a specific time period

Question 27

Prevalence of a disease

Answer 27

is the number of existing cases within a population during a specific time period

Question 28

Risk factors (predisposing factors)

Answer 28

increase the probability that disease will occur, but these factors are not the cause of the disease
ex. age, gender, heredity, race, environment

Question 29

Precipitating factor

Answer 29

is a condition or event that does cause a pathologic event or disorder
ex. asthma is precipitated by exposure to an allergen