Pathopharm Study Guide: Respiratory Function and Alterations in Gas Exchange

Vocabulary flashcards covering deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, obstructive lung disorders, restrictive lung disorders, neuromuscular chest wall conditions, and pulmonary infections.

Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT)

The development of a blood clot (thrombus) in a vein, commonly associated with the veins of the legs.

Post-Thrombotic Syndrome

A long-term complication developing in $50\%$ of people diagnosed with DVT, caused by destroyed venous valves leading to edema, pain, and skin changes.

Homans' Sign

Pain in the calf elicited when the foot is dorsiflexed; serves as a local sign of deep vein thrombosis, though it is not always a reliable indicator.

Venous Stasis

A common causative factor for thrombus development in patients experiencing immobility, such as post-operative individuals requiring reduced mobility for six weeks.

Pulmonary Embolism (PE)

A potentially fatal condition in which a thrombus causes blockage of blood flow to lung tissue, most commonly originating from a deep vein thrombosis.

Emboli

Dislodged blood clots, air bubbles, or other foreign objects carried through the bloodstream.

Single Small Pulmonary Embolus

A small embolus that may remain 'silent' or produce discreet symptoms such as chest pain, cough, and possible dyspnea, presenting a risk of going unnoticed while thrombi develop further.

Moderate-Size Pulmonary Embolus

An embolus that is likely to cause respiratory distress and pulmonary infarction.

Large Pulmonary Embolus

An embolus that causes sudden chest pain exacerbated by cough and deep breathing, tachycardia, tachypnea, dyspnea, decreased pulmonary venous return, and decreased cardiac output.

Massive (Very Large) Pulmonary Embolus

A very large embolus that occludes all pulmonary circulation, causing severe crushing chest pain, hypotension, rapid weak pulse, loss of consciousness, shock, and cardiac arrest.

Status Asthmaticus

A severe asthma attack that fails to respond to inhaled bronchodilators, requiring intravenous corticosteroids, epinephrine, subcutaneous terbutaline, and aminophylline.

Asthma

A chronic respiratory disorder characterized by bronchoconstriction, reversible airway obstruction, airway inflammation, and increased airway reactivity.

Intrinsic Asthma

A non-allergic form of asthma characterized by adult onset.

Extrinsic Asthma

An allergic form of asthma characterized by pediatric onset; recognized as the most common chronic disease of children.

Acute Bronchitis

Inflammation of the trachea and bronchial tubes primarily caused by viral infections, clinically hallmarked by a mild and self-limited cough.

Asthmatic Bronchitis

Swelling of the bronchial mucosa in children resulting in obstruction, respiratory distress, and wheezing.

Chronic Bronchitis (Type B COPD)

A form of COPD defined clinically as a productive cough lasting more than $3$ months per year for $2$ or more consecutive years, commonly associated with cigarette smoking and described as 'blue bloater'.

Emphysema (Type A COPD)

A form of COPD defined by destructive changes of the alveolar walls and abnormal enlargement of the distal air sacs, clinically characterized by progressive exertional dyspnea, barrel chest, and the 'pink puffer' presentation.

Alpha-1 Antitrypsin Deficiency

A genetic deficiency that serves as an etiologic factor in the development of emphysema.

Digital Clubbing

A physical deformity of the fingers and nail beds resulting from chronic hypoxia, seen in conditions such as emphysema and cystic fibrosis.

Barrel Chest

An anatomical deformity of the chest wall caused by chronic hyperinflation and air trapping in emphysema.

Cystic Fibrosis

An autosomal recessive genetic disorder affecting exocrine glands, classified as an airflow obstructive and suppurative (pus-forming) disorder with a median survival age of $31$ years.

Pilocarpine Iontophoresis

A diagnostic sweat test used in conjunction with genetic testing and stool examination for fat to confirm cystic fibrosis.

Dornase Alfa

Recombinant human deoxyribonuclease I, an enzymatic therapy used in cystic fibrosis to thin and clear thick, tenacious sputum.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS)

An atelectatic restrictive pulmonary disorder resulting from damage to the alveolar-capillary membrane, leading to respiratory failure.

Refractory Hypoxemia

The diagnostic hallmark of ARDS characterized by persistent hypoxia that fails to respond to increasing levels of supplemental oxygen.

Tension Pneumothorax

A severe pleural space disorder manifested by severe dyspnea, marked tachycardia, neck vein distention, profuse diaphoresis, absent breath sounds, and late tracheal deviation.

Thoracentesis

A procedure used in pleural effusion to analyze pleural fluid and reduce the fluid volume within the pleural cavity.

Empyema

A type of pleural effusion characterized by pus or infected fluid collecting within the pleural space.

Chylothorax

A type of pleural effusion involving the accumulation of lymphatic fluid in the pleural space.

Guillain-Barré Syndrome

A neuromuscular disorder presumed to have an immunologic basis, characterized by demyelination of peripheral nerves.

Myasthenia Gravis

A neuromuscular disorder causing weakness and fatigue of voluntary muscles (frequently cranial, peripheral, and respiratory) that characteristically worsens with exercise and improves with rest.

Flail Chest

A chest wall deformity caused by multiple rib fractures at two distant sites, creating an unstable, free-floating chest wall segment.

Paradoxical Chest Wall Motion

The hallmark manifestation of flail chest where the unstable segment moves inward during inspiration and outward during expiration due to impaired negative intrapleural pressure generation.

Aspiration Pneumonia

Inflammatory reaction in the alveoli caused by inhaling oropharyngeal flora or gastric contents, accounting for $20\%\text{ to }35\%$ of all pneumonias.

Ghon Tubercle

The diagnostic hallmark of pulmonary tuberculosis formed when inflammatory cells and Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacteria within macrophages become fibrotic and calcified.