Exam 3 Practice Exam: Neuro, Renal, GI, and Pharmacology Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts in neurology, nephrology, gastroenterology, and pharmacology based on the Exam 3 practice exam study guide.

Left Hemisphere Stroke

Damage to the left cerebral hemisphere that characteristically causes right-sided weakness and aphasia (loss of language abilities).

Right Hemisphere Stroke

Damage to the right cerebral hemisphere that results in left-sided weakness, poor spatial orientation, impulsive behavior, and an unawareness of deficits that significantly elevates fall risk.

Broca’s Area

The motor speech area of the frontal cortex; damage causes expressive aphasia, in which a patient understands language but struggles to form words, speaking slowly and with great effort.

Ruptured Berry Aneurysm

A ruptured saccular intracranial outpouching that produces a sudden severe headache, vomiting, nuchal rigidity, and loss of consciousness caused by an abrupt increase in intracranial pressure.

Unruptured Cerebral Aneurysm

A brain vessel outpouching prior to rupture that can present with visual disturbances, headache, photophobia, nuchal rigidity, and transient episodes of neurological dysfunction that come and go.

Seizure

A neurological condition characterized by spontaneous, excessive discharge of neurons in the brain, often related to diminished GABA inhibition and triggered by brain inflammation, hypoxia, bleeding, or genetic factors.

Absence Seizure

A generalized seizure disorder manifested by brief staring spells without subsequent confusion.

Tonic-Clonic Seizure

A generalized seizure characterized by muscle stiffening followed by rhythmic jerking, loss of consciousness, and postictal confusion.

Focal Aware Seizure

A partial seizure originating in a localized area of the brain during which the patient maintains full awareness.

Focal Impaired Awareness Seizure

A partial seizure starting in one brain region that involves altered consciousness, often accompanied by staring or automatisms such as lip smacking.

Status Epilepticus

A medical emergency defined as a continuous seizure lasting longer than $5\,\text{minutes}$.

Alzheimer’s Disease

A neurodegenerative disease defined pathologically by the accumulation of extracellular beta-amyloid plaques, intracellular tau neurofibrillary tangles, and the loss of acetylcholine, typically presenting with early loss of short-term memory.

Parkinson’s Disease

A movement disorder characterized by the loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the substantia nigra, leaving acetylcholine unopposed to cause resting pill-rolling tremors, rigidity, and a shuffling gait.

Multiple Sclerosis

An autoimmune disorder causing demyelination within the central nervous system with alternating remissions and exacerbations, in which visual disturbances and motor weakness worsen with heat exposure.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome

A post-infectious demyelinating polyneuropathy of peripheral nerves featuring an ascending paralysis that begins in the legs and moves upward toward the trunk, necessitating urgent monitoring of respiratory function.

Huntington’s Disease

An autosomal dominant neurodegenerative genetic disorder linked to chromosome $4$ that leads to atrophy of the basal ganglia and frontal cortex, causing involuntary choreiform jerky movements and progressive cognitive and psychiatric decline.

Renal Colic

Severe, intense flank pain radiating to the groin accompanied by nausea and cool, moist skin, triggered by a nephrolith obstructing the ureter.

Calcium Oxalate Stones

The most prevalent type of renal calculi, accounting for $75\text{--}80\%$ of all kidney stones, commonly exacerbated by low fluid intake.

Escherichia Coli

The gram-negative bacterium that serves as the most frequent causative pathogen of urinary tract infections.

Cystitis

Inflammation localized to the urinary bladder wall, as opposed to urethritis (urethra inflammation) or pyelonephritis (kidney infection).

Pyelonephritis

An infection involving the renal pelvis and calyces, promoted by urinary stasis, catheterization, pregnancy, or stones, and identified on urinalysis by white blood cell (WBC) casts, bacteria, and cloudy urine.

Glomerulonephritis

Inflammation of the renal glomeruli often occurring after a streptococcal throat infection, marked by an elevated antistreptolysin O (ASO) titer, hematuria, red blood cell (RBC) casts, proteinuria, and dark cola-colored urine.

Nephrotic Syndrome

A clinical state of glomerular injury defined by significant proteinuria, hypoalbuminemia, and secondary hyperlipidemia.

Nephritic Syndrome

An inflammatory glomerular syndrome characterized by hematuria with red blood cell (RBC) casts, facial puffiness, and hypertension.

Acute Kidney Injury (AKI)

A rapid and often reversible reduction in kidney filtration marked by an abrupt surge in BUN and creatinine, reduced GFR, and oliguria ($< 400\,\text{mL}$ in $24\,\text{hours}$).

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD)

A gradual and irreversible reduction in renal function, most commonly caused by uncontrolled diabetes mellitus ($\approx 70\%$ of cases), characterized by decreased GFR, hyperkalemia, hypocalcemia, decreased $HCO_3^-$, elevated BUN/creatinine, and anemia secondary to deficient erythropoietin production.

Cholelithiasis

The clinical presence or formation of gallstones within the gallbladder or biliary tree.

Cholecystitis

Inflammation of the gallbladder wall commonly caused by a calculus obstructing the cystic or common bile duct, characterized by severe radiating pain that intensifies after fatty meals, nausea, vomiting, and potential jaundice.

Prehepatic Jaundice

Hyperbilirubinemia caused by excessive destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis), leading to elevated unconjugated (indirect) bilirubin with normal or darker stool.

Intrahepatic Jaundice

Hyperbilirubinemia resulting from intrinsic hepatocellular damage (such as hepatitis or cirrhosis), which causes elevations in both unconjugated and conjugated bilirubin.

Posthepatic Jaundice

Obstructive jaundice where bile passage is blocked (e.g., choledocholithiasis), causing elevated conjugated (direct) bilirubin, dark urine, and light or clay-colored stools due to lack of intestinal bile.

Cirrhosis

Permanent, irreversible fibrotic scarring of the liver tissue leading to diminished albumin synthesis (low oncotic pressure), portal hypertension, ascites, peripheral edema, bruising, encephalopathy, and life-threatening bleeding from esophageal varices.

Ruptured Esophageal Varices

Hemorrhage of dilated submucosal esophageal veins secondary to portal hypertension, presenting with hematemesis, tachycardia, and hypotension from shock.

Crohn’s Disease

A chronic inflammatory bowel disease causing transmural inflammation across all bowel wall layers anywhere in the alimentary tract, frequently presenting during adolescence with strictures, fistulas, and malabsorption.

Ulcerative Colitis

A continuous inflammatory disease confined to the colon and rectum that presents with up to $12$ bloody, mucus-rich stools daily and risk of toxic megacolon; curable by total colectomy.

Phenytoin

An anticonvulsant with a therapeutic plasma concentration range of $10\text{--}20\,\mu\text{g/mL}$; adverse risks include teratogenicity and gingival hyperplasia, requiring regular oral care and secondary contraception.

Levodopa-Carbidopa

A dopamine replacement therapy for Parkinson's disease that requires dietary avoidance of high-protein meals to prevent competitive inhibition of drug absorption in the gut.

Methylphenidate

A central nervous system stimulant used for ADHD that must be taken after meals to preserve appetite, avoided with caffeine, and taken no later than $4\text{--}5\,\text{pm}$ to avert insomnia.

Benztropine

A centrally acting anticholinergic agent indicated for reversing extrapyramidal symptoms, such as acute dystonic spasms of the neck and tongue, induced by typical antipsychotics like haloperidol.

Haloperidol

A typical antipsychotic agent that carries a boxed warning for QT interval prolongation and can cause acute dystonia and other extrapyramidal movement disorders.

Serotonin Syndrome

A potentially fatal toxic state caused by excess serotonin activity (e.g., fluoxetine), characterized by hyperthermia, profuse sweating, hyperreflexia, agitation, and hallucinations.

Fluoxetine

A selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) indicated for major depressive disorder that requires immediate reporting of emergent suicidal thoughts or behaviors.

Lorazepam

A benzodiazepine sedative-hypnotic that enhances GABA activity; concurrent ingestion of alcohol or other CNS depressants must be avoided to prevent fatal respiratory depression.

Lithium

A mood stabilizer with a therapeutic window of $0.6\text{--}1.2\,\text{mEq/L}$; plasma concentrations at or exceeding $1.8\,\text{mEq/L}$ cause signs of toxicity (vomiting, weakness), and patients must maintain normal sodium and water intake.

Pantoprazole

A proton pump inhibitor whose long-term administration (e.g., $6\,\text{months}$) elevates risks for hypomagnesemia, vitamin B12 malabsorption, and Clostridioides difficile colitis.

Ketorolac

A potent parenteral NSAID inhibiting COX-1 and COX-2 that is restricted to short-term therapy ($\le 5\,\text{days}$) due to significant risks of gastrointestinal ulceration, bleeding, and acute kidney injury.

Infliximab

A biologic tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist used for Crohn's disease that requires premedication with acetaminophen and diphenhydramine and a slow $2\,\text{hour}$ infusion, contraindicated during active infections or liver disease.

Naloxone

A competitive opioid antagonist administered via IV, IM, or intranasal routes to reverse opioid-induced central nervous system and respiratory depression ($< 12\,\text{breaths/min}$).

Atropine

A competitive muscarinic receptor antagonist that acts as the direct reversal agent for cholinergic toxicity caused by bethanechol overdose.

Alpha-1 Receptor

An adrenergic receptor subtype whose activation triggers vascular smooth muscle vasoconstriction and increases peripheral blood pressure.

Beta-1 Receptor

A cardiac adrenergic receptor whose stimulation causes positive chronotropic (increased heart rate) and positive inotropic (increased contractility) actions.

Beta-2 Receptor

An adrenergic receptor whose activation elicits bronchial dilation and hepatic glycogen breakdown resulting in glucose release.

Dopamine Receptor

A peripheral vascular receptor that mediates renal artery vasodilation and increased renal blood flow.

Muscarinic Receptor

A parasympathetic cholinergic receptor whose activation decreases heart rate, constricts pupils (miosis), and contracts the urinary bladder detrusor muscle.

Muscarinic Antagonist

A drug class that blocks parasympathetic cholinergic activity, resulting in anticholinergic effects including dry mouth and urinary retention.