Pathophysiology Vocabulary

Question 1

Disease

Answer 1

An abnormal structural or functional change within the body.

Question 2

Pathophysiology

Answer 2

The study of the functional changes that occur within living cells and tissues that are associated with or that result from disease or injury.

Question 3

Pathology

Answer 3

The medical science that deals with all aspects of disease.

Question 4

Pathologist

Answer 4

A physician who studies pathology.

Question 5

Cells

Answer 5

The basic structural unit of all plants and animals.

A membrane enclosing a thick fluid and a nucleus.

Cells are specialized to carry out all of the body’s basic functions.

Question 6

Tissue

Answer 6

A group of similar cells that performs a common function.

Question 7

Organ

Answer 7

A group of tissues working together to perform a similar function.

Question 8

Organ System

Answer 8

A group of organs working together to perform a common or similar function.

Question 9

Organism

Answer 9

A group of organ systems functioning together.

Question 10

Population

Answer 10

All the organisms of the same species residing in a distinct geographic area.

Question 11

Community

Answer 11

The sum total of all living organisms occupying a defined geographic area.

Question 12

Ecosystem

Answer 12

A community and it’s physical environment.

Question 13

Biome

Answer 13

A geographic area with similar climatic conditions.

Question 14

Biosphere

Answer 14

The portion of Earth where life is found, comprised of all ecosystems, biomes, and by definition all living organisms.

Question 15

Predisposing Factors

Answer 15

Factors that may lead to or increase the chance of contracting a disease.

Question 16

Pathogenesis

Answer 16

The sequence of events in the development of a disease.

Question 17

Idiopathic

Answer 17

Of unknown cause, in reference to a disease.

Question 18

Etiology

Answer 18

The study of disease causes, often consisting of causality, contribution, and correlation.

Question 19

Clinical Presentation

Answer 19

The manifestation of a disease; the signs and symptoms of a disease.

Question 20

Symptom

Answer 20

What the patient tells you about the disease – a subjective complaint.

Question 21

Sign

Answer 21

An objective finding you can identify through physical examination.

Question 22

Syndrome

Answer 22

A constellation of signs and symptoms commonly found in association with a particular disease or condition.

Question 23

Diagnosis

Answer 23

The process of identifying and assigning a name to a disease in an individual patient or a group of patients with similar signs and symptoms.

Question 24

Acute

Answer 24

Sudden onset.

Question 25

Chronic

Answer 25

Slow onset, persisting over a long period of time.

Question 26

Insidious

Answer 26

Existing without symptoms or with mild symptoms, as a disease that does not seem as serious as it is or as it may become.

Question 27

Metabolism

Answer 27

The total changes that take place during physiologic processes; the body’s breaking down of chemicals into different chemicals.

Question 28

Complications

Answer 28

Abnormalities that result from the original problem.

Question 29

Sequelae

Answer 29

Complications that are common, or even expected.

Question 30

Prognosis

Answer 30

The expected outcome of a disease or injury.

Question 31

Teratogens

Answer 31

External factors that can affect the development of a fetus.

Question 32

Neoplasia

Answer 32

Abnormal or uncontrolled cell growth.

Question 33

Neoplasm

Answer 33

A tumor that results from neoplasia.

Question 34

Benign

Answer 34

Not cancerous; not able to spread.

Question 35

Malignant

Answer 35

Cancerous; able to spread.

Question 36

Trauma

Answer 36

A physical injury or wound caused by external force or violence.

Question 37

Iatrogenic Disease

Answer 37

A disease that results from a medical treatment given for another disease or condition.

Question 38

Autoimmune Disease

Answer 38

Failure of the immune system to recognize certain tissues normally present in the body resulting in an attack against those tissues by the immune system.

Question 39

Chemical Evolution

Answer 39

The theory that simple chemicals present in the primordial atmosphere and ocean combined to form larger, more complex chemicals.

Question 40

Self-replicate

Answer 40

The ability to produce identical copies of itself.

Question 41

Biological Evolution

Answer 41

The ability of a chemical to self-replicate.

Question 42

Natural Selection

Answer 42

The tendency of traits that help a species to adapt and survive to become common in a population by being passed down to succeeding generations.