Module 1: Foundations Flashcards
What is pathophysiology?
the study of the functional changes that happen to our cells, tissues and organs as a result of disease, injury, or condition
What are the 4 interrelated topics in pathophysiology?
-etiology
-pathogenesis
-clinical manifestations
-treatment
What is the difference between pathology and pathophysiology?
pathology is the study of structural changes in cells, tissues, and organs caused by disease or injury
pathophysiology studies the physiological/functional changes
Define biopsy
tissue removal from living individual
Define autopsy
tissue removal following death of individual
Define findings
the diagnostics; results of the laboratory and imaging tests utilized by the pathologist to determine diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment protocol
Define diagnosis
the identification of the specific disease
Define prognosis
the expected outcome of the disease
Define therapy/therapeutics
the method of treatment of the disease/illness with the goal of at least reducing the patient’s signs and symptoms to a level of (near) normal function
What is a pathogen?
the disease-causing organism (causative agent), also called antigen
What is pathogenicity?
the ability of a pathogen to cause disease
What determines pathogenic success?
-communicability
-virulence
-extent of tissue damage
-host susceptibility
Which is a better prognosis for the patient; high pathogenicity or low pathogenicity?
low
Which is a better prognosis for the patient; highly virulent strain or low virulence?
low
Which is a better prognosis for the patient; a highly susceptible host or a patient with low susceptibility?
low
Define etiology
the cause of the disease and/ or injury (can be genetic, congenital, and acquired)
What is genetic etiology?
-genetic abnormality
-inherited traits
-can be random/caused by environment
-clinical manifestations may be present at or shortly after birth or develop years later
What is the function of genes? What is gene expression?
-genes are specific regions of DNA; each codes for and regulates synthesis of a specific protein
-gene expression is the term for the process by which the information encoded in a particular gene is used to synthesize the specific protein product of the gene
What is congenital etiology?
-the result of a genetic defect, injury/exposure, or micronutrient deficiency that occurred during embryonic or fetal development in utero or during labour and delivery of the child (sometimes called a birth defect since disorder may be present before or after birth)
-include mental deficits, physical anomalies, structural malformations, and some diseases or syndromes
What period of time is embryonic development?
beginning of week 3 to end of week 8: the most dangerous period for intrauterine exposure to teratogens
What period of time is fetal development?
beginning of week 9 to end of week 36; developmental issues may still occur but usually not as severe as with embryonic exposure
What is the acronym TORCH for? And what does it stand for?
it is used to remember the common teratogens
T- toxoplasmosis (cat litter)
O- other (certain viruses, chemicals and bacteria)
R- rubella
C- cytomegalovirus (CMV)
H- herpes simplex 2 (genital)
What is acquired etiology?
-most common etiology category
-damage that occurs later in life
-general causes include infectious agents, physical agents, chemical agents, malnutrition, abnormal immune responses, and psychological agents
Define idiopathic
the cause of the disease is unknown
Define iatrogenic
the cause of the disease and/or injury is related to a medical intervention (surgery, drug side effects, etc.)
Define nosocomial
a disease acquired as a result of being in a hospital environment (ex. C. diff.)
What is the difference between predisposing risk factors and precipitating risk factors?
predisposing– increase the possibility of developing a disease or injury (NOT the cause)
precipitating– causes the disease or injury to develop
What are the two types of risk factors?
- modifiable risk factors– lifestyle, environment
- non-modifiable risk factors– age, genetics, biological sex
Define disease sequelae
unwanted outcomes of a disease or trauma that can lead to further, often chronic health issues– are often multisystemic and may be described as the complications of a particular disease (ex. long COVID)
Define comorbidity
2 or more diseases or medical conditions that are present in a patient at the same time (ex. having COVID and a pre-existing heart condition)
Define pathogenesis
-the pathologic, physiologic or biochemical pattern of tissue changes leading to development of disease
-consists of the chain of events that leads to the structural and/ or functional changes associated with the disease or injury
-explains how the disease evolves and progresses over time
-each stage of disease pathogenesis may produce characteristic signs and symptoms (clinical manifestations)
What are the two groups of cells/tissues found within an organ?
parenchyma and stoma
All organs are made of a combination of parenchymal and stromal tissues
Define parenchyma
functional cells of the organ– ex. skeletal muscle cells move bones and hormone secreting endocrine cells make hormones
Define stroma
the supportive framework of connective tissue, small blood vessels and lymphatic vessels, and nerve endings
consist of: connective tissue cells and tissue immune cells, the microvasculature, and nerve endings
The heart wall is made of 3 layers, which ones are stromal and which are parenchymal
epicardium (made of serous membrane) is stromal
myocardium (made of cardiac muscle cells) is parenchymal
endocardium (made of endothelium) is stromal
-based on which layers are functional and which are just for support
Define morphology
the shape/size of cells
specific to each cell type; required for the cell to function
Define morphological change
adaptive property of damaged cells as they try to survive the injury
What is an example of a morphological change that isn’t pathologic?
pregnancy
Define lesion
the actual site(s) of tissue damage; the “wound”
What are the classifications of lesions?
1) local/focal lesion– limited to specific, defined body location
ex. palmar surface of the left hand
2) diffuse– affects larger area of a specific body organ or system
ex. the entire liver is affect by fatty liver
3) systemic lesion– widespread damage to more than one organ or organ system
ex. metastatic cancer
Note: brain injuries do NOT follow these rules
What is the difference between signs and symptoms?
signs– measurable! detectable, objective (ex. VS), obtained by HCW
ex. fever, blood glucose, and x-ray
symptoms– patient’s experience, subjective
ex. pain level, malaise, headache
Define disease onset
the time over which the disease or condition develops– also called “clinical course”
What are the classifications of disease onset?
acute, chronic, insidious (sneaks up on you), latent/dormant, subclinical/subacute
What is the difference between an acute and a chronic disease course?
acute disease course– time frame from illness to wellness measured in days to about 2 weeks
chronic disease course– time frame from illness to wellness is measured in weeks or longer, and the terms remission and exacerbation may be used to describe the disease progression
Define remission
periods where clinical manifestations disappear completely or are significantly decreased
Define exacerbations
periods where clinical manifestations become more obvious and severe (often called flare ups)
What is the difference between disease onset and disease course?
onset refers to how long it took to become ill and course refers to how the illness changes over time
What are the 4 stages of infectious disease course?
1) incubation period– asymptomatic
2) prodromal stage– non-specific manifestations (ex. cranky, sore body)
3) invasion period– specific disease manifestations (ex. sore throat)
4) convalescence– recovery time
In what stage is an infected person contagious and able to transmit disease?
in incubation period, prodromal stage, and invasion period
In what stage of the infectious disease course is the infected individual most contagious?
the prodromal stage
Define communicable disease
infectious and easily transmitted from one individual to others and causes disease in most exposed individuals (ex. chicken pox or the flu)
What are the 4 modes of entry?
1) transdermal (direct contact)
2) inhalation
3) ingestion
4) injection (including bites/stings from animals)
Define syndrome
disease or condition that has a defined group of lesions and signs and symptoms with a common etiology (ex. Down syndrome)
Define complication
disease or condition that occurs in addition to the original tissue damage
– can add to difficulty of treatment or be life-threatening and can change the prognosis of disease
Define epidemiology
study of the distribution and determinants of health in a specific population and application of this information to control the specific health problems
What is the difference between prevalence and incidence
prevalence– number of EXISTING cases in a population at a specific time
incidence– number of NEW cases in a population at a specific time
Define endemic
disease has high, but constant rates of infection within a particular population
Define epidemic
number of new infections within a population far exceeds expected occurrence
Define pandemic
epidemic that is spread over large area of population
Define gene expression
mechanisms that turn genes on and off
True or false: congenital diseases are familial diseases
false
True or false: the more virulent the pathogen, the easier it is to treat the patient
false
True or false: sleep deprivation is a sign of stress
false
True or false: vaccines can prevent acquired infections
true
True or false: mucous membranes are common infection portals of entry
true
True or false: communicable diseases are often airborne
true
True or false: high morbidity rates mean many people have died
false
True or false: convalescence is the last stage of a clinical infection disease course
true
True or false: morphological change indicates cancer
false (not always a bad thing, ex. pregnancy)
True or false: disease indicates the individual is unable to perform activities of daily living
Both true and false– not always
What are the basic components of the lymphatic system?
primary lymphatic tissue– red bone marrow and thymus
secondary lymphatic tissue– spleen, regional lymph nodes, diffuse lymphatic tissue, tonsils, and appendix
What is included in the primary lymphatic tissue?
1) red bone marrow (also called myeloid tissue)
-site of production of all blood cells
-site of maturation of B lymphocytes
2) thymus
-site of maturation of T lymphocytes
What is included in the secondary lymphatic tissue?
spleen, regional lymph nodes, diffuse lymphatic tissues, tonsils, and appendix
function– where innate and adaptive immune cells reside and fight pathogens
What is lymph?
-an indirect blood product
-clear, watery fluid
-created from tissue fluid (fluid between cells)
What is the pathway of lymph production to drainage?
blood plasma
tissue fluid
lymph
lymph vessels
systemic venous blood
What are the functions of lymph?
1) help maintain fluid balance
2) immune functions (contain WBCs)
3) transport of lipids from digestive tract
Within the lymph nodes is it innate or adaptive responses?
both
Why are lymph nodes encapsulated?
lymph nodes are surrounded by a connective tissue capsule so that filtration is slow which allows time for WBCs to destroy pathogens, and if the node swells too much is triggers pain receptors
Describe the spleen (what it contains and it’s function)
located in the left upper quadrant of abd cavity
contains:
red pulp
-location of many blood sinuses
-site of destruction of worn out RBCs
-normally contains about 250mL of blood that it is processing at any given time
white pulp
-lymphatic tissue that contains many phagocytic WBCs
-site of phagocytosis of foreign agents from blood and lymph
the spleen is unencapsulated and is prone to rupture from impact injuries, resulting in severe blood loss
Where doe lymphatic veins drain to?
systemic veins
Where does the thoracic duct drain to?
L subclavian vein
What does it mean for the lymphatic capillaries to be blind ended?
one way direction of lymph flow: out of the tissues and towards systemic veins
Lymphatic capillaries are quite leaky. A) why is this important in normal tissue fluid balance and B) what two types of pathogens use these leaky lymphatic vessels for transport?
A) tissue fluid production is constant; need to remove excess tissue fluid to prevent tissue edema
B) infections and some cancer cells
Why do swollen lymph nodes hurt more than a swollen spleen?
lymph nodes are surrounded by a thicker capsule that hurts when the lymph node swells during an infection
