Surgical and Medical Lecture Review

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering gastrointestinal pathologies, surgical complications, and emergency conditions including diverticulitis, biliary diseases, pancreatitis, and hernias.

Diverticular

Outpouching of haustra in the large bowel.

Diverticulitis

An infection occurring within a diverticular outpouching.

Cholangitis

Infection of the biliary tract, often caused by obstruction from gallstones, malignancies, or strictures.

Charcot triad

A set of three clinical findings for cholangitis: fever, jaundice, and RUQ pain.

Reynolds pentad

A set of five clinical findings for cholangitis: fever, jaundice, RUQ pain, shock, and confusion.

Cholelithiasis

The condition of having gallstones.

Biliary colic

Dull pain in the epigastrium or RUQ that comes in waves, caused by a stone transiently lodged in the cystic duct without acute infection.

Acute cholecystitis

Inflammation of the gallbladder resulting from a sustained gallstone in the cystic duct.

Murphy's sign

A clinical sign where there is a halt of inspiration during palpation of the right upper quadrant, indicating acute cholecystitis.

Choledocholithiasis

A condition where a gallstone is lodged in the common bile duct.

Plicae circularis

Structural findings visible on abdominal X-ray as gas-filled bowel loops in small bowel obstruction.

Stepladder sign

A specific appearance on an abdominal X-ray indicating small bowel obstruction.

Tenesmus

A distressing symptom of colorectal cancer characterized by a constant urge to pass stools.

Low urine output

A clinical threshold defined as producing less than $0.5\,ml/kg/hour$ of urine.

Post Op Ileus

A non-mechanical obstruction of the bowel, often caused by opioids or electrolyte abnormalities following surgery.

Pancreatitis

Acute inflammation of the pancreas caused by the premature activation of digestive enzymes.

I GET SMASHED

A mnemonic for the causes of pancreatitis: idiopathic, gallstones, ethanol, trauma, steroids, measles, autoimmune, scorpion, hypo, ERC, and drugs.

Cullen's sign

A clinical finding of periumbilical ecchymosis associated with acute pancreatitis.

Grey Turner's sign

A clinical finding of flank ecchymosis associated with acute pancreatitis.

Atlanta classification

Criteria used for diagnosing pancreatitis, requiring 2 out of 3: abdominal pain, elevated lipase or amylase, and imaging findings.

Glasgow-Imrie score

A clinical tool used for the severity assessment of acute pancreatitis.

Hernia

The protrusion of a viscus through the wall that normally contains it.

Direct inguinal hernia

A hernia occurring medial to the inferior epigastric vessels.

Indirect inguinal hernia

A hernia occurring lateral to the inferior epigastric vessels; it is noted as the more common type.

Incarcerated hernia

A hernia that is stuck in the wall but the contents are still viable.

Strangulated hernia

A hernia that is stuck and unviable, presenting with constant severe pain, tenderness, erythema, and systemic illness.

Necrotizing Fasciitis

A rapidly progressing soft tissue infection that spreads along the fascia layers.

Crepitus

A clinical sign of necrotizing fasciitis characterized by a crackling feel or sound due to gas in the soft tissues.