Terminology of Disease Part 1

Question 1

What is disease?

Answer 1

• description of general nature, organ system, affected and important features that distinguish it from similar conditions
  E.g. rheumatoid arthritis

Question 2

What is aetiology?

Answer 2

• general causes and risk factors, leading to suffering from effects.

Question 3

What is pathology?

Answer 3

• mechanisms of disease process & what? And how?

Question 4

What is pathophysiology?

Answer 4

• relates its effects to the disruption of normal physiological function

Question 5

What is epidemiology?

Answer 5

• importance of how common a condition is + whether any particular population group = more susceptible
• answers who? question

Question 6

What is incidence?

Answer 6

• number of new cases of the disease

Question 7

What is prevalence?

Answer 7

• number of active cases of a disease at any one time

Question 8

What is morbidity?

Answer 8

• describes the prevalence of a disease

Question 9

What is comorbidity?

Answer 9

• any other disease the patient has

Question 10

What are symptoms?

Answer 10

• noticed by patient + reported or found out upon questioning (subjective & complained of)

Question 11

What are signs?

Answer 11

• found on examination, although may be noticed by the patient (objective/ on examination)

Question 12

What is presentation?

Answer 12

• Typical pattern of clinical features caused by a disease

Question 13

What are clinical features?

Answer 13

• symptoms and signs - what distinguishes that condition

Question 14

What are investigations?

Answer 14

• tests or procedures used to confirm a diagnosis
• distinguishing between closley related conditions (differential diagnosis) or monitoring progress
  E.g. blood and urine analysis, MRI & radiography

Question 15

What is natural history?

Answer 15

• course of a disease
• when? - young/old
• enables predictions for likelihood of patients recovery/degree of eventual disability (prognosis)
• helps to judge whether improvements are down to treatment/natural remission

Question 16

Knowing the duration of s disease + its pattern = important. True or False?

Answer 16

True.

Question 17

What is acute illness?

Answer 17

• starts suddenly + resolves either on it s own / following treatment

Question 18

What is chronic disease?

Answer 18

• starts insidiously + continues for a long time (possibly lifelong)
• could be: stable, continuous, progressive, fluctuating or have complications

Question 19

What is mortality?

Answer 19

• likelihood of a fatal outcome

- proportion of patients expected to die within a specified time

Question 20

What is survival?

Answer 20

• proportion of patients alive at the specified time after diagnosis

Question 21

What is a self-limiting condition?

Answer 21

• condition that resolve on its own

E.g. a cold