Nomenclature of diseases

Question 1

What is nomenclature?

Answer 1

The system of names used in pathology and medicine

Question 2

Why is nomenclature useful?

Answer 2

1. Uniform nomenclature helps with communication and enables accurate epidemiology
2. Many standard conventions are used to derive names of diseases. Helps compare data as doctors uses same names

Question 3

What is a disease ?

Answer 3

A condition in which the presence of an abnormality in the body causes a loss of normal health

Question 4

The abnormality of a disease can cause structural or functional changes, explain what this means

Answer 4

Structural tends to be something you can see with your eye or microscope
Functional abnormality tends to be what you can’t visibly see e.g. fever

Question 5

Diseases tend to be caused by the inability of what?

Answer 5

The organism to adapt to a challenge

Question 6

What are the different nomenclature of diseases?

Answer 6

• Primary and secondary
• Acute and chronic
• Benign and malignant

Question 7

How is primary and secondary used to describe the causation of a disease?

Answer 7

• Primary: disease without apparent cause (essential; idiopathic; spontaneous; cryptogenic)
• Secondary: disease is a complication or manifestation of some underlying lesion.

Question 8

What are the different ways primary and secondary is used in nomenclature of disease

Answer 8

• To describe the causation of a disease
• To distinguish between the initial and subsequent stages of a disease (most commonly in cancer)

Question 9

How is acute and chronic used to describe the dynamics of a disease?

Answer 9

• Acute: A rapid onset often but not always followed by a rapid resolution
• Chronic: may follow an acute initial episode, and have a prolonged course lasting months or years

Question 10

How is Benign and malignant used to classify certain diseases according to their likely outcome?

Answer 10

• Benign tumours: remain localised to the tissue of origin and are very rarely fatal
• Malignant tumours: invade and spread from their origin and are commonly fatal

Question 11

What is Eponymous names

Answer 11

A disease or lesion is named after a person or place associated with it

Question 12

What are the 3 aims of disease classification?

Answer 12

• Determine the best treatment
• Estimate the prognosis
• Ascertain the cause: so the disease can be prevented in the future

Question 13

Disease classification are based on what?

Answer 13

• Aetiology - causes
• Pathogenesis - underlying mechanisms

Question 14

What are genetic diseases?

Answer 14

• due to abnormalities in the genome. Most are inherited, but ~15-20% occur due to new mutations in the affected individuals

Question 15

What are acquired diseases?

Answer 15

• Caused by environmental factors such as pollution

Question 16

In most disease the g_____ and e______ factors interact

Answer 16

• Genetic and environmental

Question 17

Based on pathogenesis or disease mechanisms, most diseases can be assigned into what 2 classifications?

Answer 17

• Congenital and Acquired

Question 18

What is Congenital disease?

Answer 18

• ~5% of births in UK are initiated before or during birth, but some may not cause clinical manifestation until adult life

Question 19

What is Genetic (congenital disease)?

Answer 19

• Inherited from parents or genetic mutation before birth e.g. downs syndrome

Question 20

What is non-genetic (congenital disease)?

Answer 20

• External interference with normal embryonic and foetal development e.g. deafness