Lecture 4 Flashcards
Etiology
study of cause of the disease
Incidence
rate of new cases,
when where and how often it
occurs.
Prevalence
portion of population
already affected by the disease
Acute
sudden onset of symtoms; less than 3 months
Chronic
more than 3 months of symptoms
Idiopathic
disease of unknown origin
Iatrogenic
disease from adverse effects of treatment (from the term “iatr”
which means physician)
Communicable disease
transmitted from one person to another
Epidemic
many people acquiring a certain disease at the same time
Pandemic
infectious disease spread over a large region
Nosocomial infections
caused by hospitalization, or acquired at clinical
institutions
Sign
Objective evidence of disease. Evidence that can be observed by health professionals.
For example, jaundice is a symptom of a disease,
because another person (not the patient himself or herself) can see it. Another
example would be fever: it can be measured, therefore, observed by others.
Symptom
subjective evidence of disease. This is something that would be
reported by the patient, because only the patient can feel it.
For example,
when you have pain, only you can observe it. Others can not perceive it,
unless you tell them.
Apoptosis
programmed cell death
Dysplasia
appearance of abnormal cell growth within a tissue or organ
