medical terminology Flashcards
Physiology definition
a branch of biology that deals with the normal functions of living organisms and their parts.
Pathophysiology definition
a branch of study concerning disorder physiological processes that cause associated disease or injury.
disease definition
any abnormal disturbance of the function or structure of the human body.
symptoms definition
feelings associated with the disorder, they are subjective.
sign definition
what we can measure with the disorder, they are objective.
examples of symptoms
nausea, fatigue, lack of appetite
examples of signs
pyrexia, rash
aetiology
origin or science of the cause of a particular disease
two types of aetiology
idiopathic + iatrogenic
idiopathic
no cause can be identified
iatrogenic
if a disease is caused by medical intervention
examples of a idiopathic disease
fibromyalgia, IBS, chronic fatigue
fibromyalgia
disorder of general pain
examples of a iatrogenic disease
UTI caused by catheter, infection due to surgery, cancer due to excessive radiation exposure
why do we need to know about pathology?
- helps us to interpret and analyse our images
- understands how normal body processes work
- impacts patients care
- impacts radiographic technique
acute diseases definition
rapid onset + usually severe
examples of acute diseases
appendicitis, asthma attack, cardiac arrest
chronic diseases definition
prolonged or recurring illnesses
examples of chronic diseases
diabetes, cancer, arthritis
diagnosis definition
name of disease after considering signs/symptoms and results of tests
prognosis defintion
outcomes of patients disease
neoplastic
conditions that cause tumour (benign or malignant)
benign
non cancerous tumour
malignant
cancerous tumour
congenital
a disease present from birth, this can be genetic or environment
example of a congenital disease
spina bifida
hereditary
disease is inherited
inflammatory
disease causes inflammation
toxic
caused by toxins or chemicals
degenerative
disease that gets increasingly worse over time
metabolic
disease caused by abnormal chemical reactions in the body that disrupt a process
traumatic
caused by a traumatic event
allergic
overreaction of the body’s immune system
idiosyncratic
adverse reactions to chemicals that occur
why do we need to be aware of medical terminology?
- to communicate effectively with other medical professionals and patients
- enable us to adapt techniques to a specific pathology or condition
etymology
working out the meaning of a word by splitting it into smaller components
haematology
study of blood
etiology
study of the causes
