Pathophysiology Exam 1 Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering cellular adaptation, cardiac electrophysiology, cardiovascular diseases, oncology, hematology, shock, tissue types, and autonomic responses.

Atrophy

A cellular adaptation involving a decrease in cell size occurring in the absence of stress, such as muscle shrinking without exercise.

Hypertrophy

A cellular adaptation characterized by an increase in cell size resulting from stress, such as skeletal muscles enlarging with exercise.

Hyperplasia

An increase in the total number of normal cells in response to hormonal or external stimulation, as seen in wound healing and endometrial lining growth.

Metaplasia

A cellular adaptation where one fully differentiated cell type is replaced by another cell type within the same tissue family, such as respiratory epithelium alterations caused by smoking.

Dysplasia

Rapid and abnormal cell growth that serves as a potential precursor to cancer, such as cervical dysplasia detected via a pap smear.

Cellular Injury Agents

External or internal factors causing cell injury, divided into physical agents (extreme temperature, mechanical force, electricity, radiation) and chemical/imbalance agents (toxins, nutritional imbalance, biologic agents like viruses and bacteria).

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD)

Narrowing or obstruction of the coronary arteries typically caused by atherosclerosis, leading to diminished oxygen delivery to the myocardium.

Coronary Circulation

The arterial network supplying myocardium with blood, originating from the right coronary artery (branching into marginal and posterior interventricular) and left coronary artery (branching into circumflex and anterior interventricular), draining via great veins into the coronary sinus.

Cardiac Chambers and Valves

The structural pathway of cardiac blood flow: systemic deoxygenated blood enters the right atrium, passes through the tricuspid valve, right ventricle, and pulmonic valve to the lungs; oxygenated blood returns to the left atrium, passing through the bicuspid (mitral) valve, left ventricle, aortic valve, and aorta.

Cardiac Output (CO)

The total volume of blood pumped by the heart per minute, defined by the formula $\text{CO} = \text{SV} \times \text{HR}$, with standard resting values ranging from $5 - 6\,\text{L/min}$.

Ejection Fraction

The volumetric percentage of blood ejected by the left ventricle with each cardiac contraction, with normal physiological values between $50\%$ and $70\%$.

Renin-Angiotensin Cycle

A hormonal homeostatic mechanism initiated when low renal blood flow prompts kidneys to release renin, converting angiotensinogen to angiotensin I, which angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) converts to angiotensin II.

Apoptosis

A mechanism of programmed cell death characterized by controlled structural disassembly.

Aerobic Respiration

An oxygen-dependent metabolic pathway in the mitochondria (Krebs cycle) where carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are broken down to produce ATP.

Anaerobic Respiration

An oxygen-independent, glucose-based metabolic pathway (glycolysis) providing temporary ATP during hypoxia, producing lactic acid as a byproduct.

Cardiac Action Potential

Electrophysiological process in myocardial cells driven by sodium ($\text{Na}^+$) influx causing initial depolarization, calcium ($\text{Ca}^{2+}$) influx maintaining ventricular contraction, and potassium ($\text{K}^+$) efflux mediating repolarization.

Electrocardiogram (ECG) Components

Graphic recording of electrical cardiac conduction featuring the P wave (atrial depolarization), QRS complex (ventricular depolarization / systole), T wave (ventricular repolarization / diastole), and occasionally a U wave.

Atrial Fibrillation (A-Fib)

A cardiac dysrhythmia where impaired electrical conduction causes the upper chambers (atria) to beat irregularly, predisposing the patient to thrombus formation and embolic stroke.

Ventricular Fibrillation (V-Fib)

The most common lethal cardiac dysrhythmia in adults, characterized by chaotic, uncoordinated contraction of the ventricles that halts effective systemic blood pumping.

Pulseless Electrical Activity (PEA)

A clinical emergency in which an ECG display indicates organized electrical activity, but no palpable peripheral or central pulse is generated due to mechanical pumping failure.

Asystole

A state of complete absence of electrical conduction and mechanical activity in the heart, visualized as a flatline on ECG.

Left-Sided Heart Failure

Inability of the left ventricle to pump efficiently, leading to blood backing up into pulmonary circulation, causing pulmonary congestion, pulmonary edema, crackles on auscultation, dyspnea, and activity intolerance.

Right-Sided Heart Failure

Inability of the right ventricle to pump efficiently, causing fluid to back up into systemic venous circulation, manifesting as systemic congestion, dependent edema, weight gain, ascites, and jugular vein distention (JVD).

Heart Failure Pathophysiology

Systemic failure where right ventricular collapse causes peripheral congestion, hepatomegaly, and GI distress, whereas left ventricular collapse causes diminished cardiac output and impaired pulmonary gas exchange.

Brain Natriuretic Peptide (BNP)

A cardiac hormone released by ventricular myocytes in response to increased stretch from fluid overload, serving as a key biomarker for heart failure.

Angina

Transient chest discomfort caused by temporary myocardial ischemia without permanent tissue necrosis, typically exertional, relieved by rest, and associated with ST depressions or T wave inversions without cardiac serum markers.

Myocardial Infarction (MI)

Death of myocardial tissue due to prolonged ischemia, presenting with severe persistent chest pain unmitigated by rest, ST-segment elevation, Q waves, and serum release of troponin, CPK, and myoglobin.

Valvular Stenosis and Regurgitation

Valvular lesions where stenosis represents narrowing that prevents full valve opening, while regurgitation (insufficiency) represents incomplete valve closure allowing backward blood leakage.

Benign Neoplasm

A non-malignant tumor composed of well-differentiated cells that exhibits slow expansion without invading surrounding tissues or metastasizing.

Malignant Neoplasm

A cancerous growth characterized by undifferentiated cells, variable growth rate, invasion of adjacent tissues, and the potential for systemic metastasis.

Fragile X Syndrome

A genetic disorder caused by a full mutation in the FMR1 gene resulting in intellectual impairment, a narrow facial structure, prominent forehead and jaw, joint hyperflexibility, post-pubertal macroorchidism in males, and mitral valve prolapse.

Thrombocytosis and Thrombocytopenia

Platelet numerical disorders where thrombocytosis denotes an elevated platelet count predisposing to excessive thrombosis, while thrombocytopenia indicates a reduced platelet count increasing hemorrhage risk.

Hemophilia, DIC, and Von Willebrand Disease

Coagulation disorders comprising Hemophilia (Type A factor VIII deficiency, Type B factor IX deficiency), DIC (widespread microvascular clotting consuming platelets and triggering extensive bleeding), and Von Willebrand Disease (impaired platelet adhesion due to von Willebrand factor defect).

Raynaud's Disease

A vasospastic disorder affecting small distal arteries (fingers or toes) provoked by cold or emotional stress, demonstrating triphasic cutaneous color changes: white (ischemia), blue (hypoxia), and red (hyperemic reperfusion).

Erythropoiesis

The renal- and hepatic-regulated generation of red blood cells in bone marrow, triggered when low circulating oxygen stimulates kidneys ($90\%$) and liver ($10\%$) to release erythropoietin.

Red Blood Cell Disorders

Hematologic diseases affecting RBCs, including Sickle Cell (genetic crescent deformation), Iron Deficiency (decreased hemoglobin/RBCs), Pernicious Anemia (autoimmune failure of B12 absorption), Polycythemia Vera (marrow overproduction of RBCs), Thalassemia (inherited decreased hemoglobin), and Aplastic Anemia (marrow cessation of blood cell production).

Cardiogenic Shock

A state of hypoperfusion caused by primary pump failure of the heart, resulting in decreased cardiac output, lowered blood pressure, and compensatory sympathetic vasoconstriction that increases cardiac afterload.

Distributive Shock

A shock state resulting from severe generalized vasodilation causing peripheral blood pooling and inadequate tissue perfusion, subtyped into neurogenic, anaphylactic, and septic shock.

Sympathetic vs. Parasympathetic Nervous System

Divisions of the autonomic system where the Sympathetic branch manages external stress ('fight or flight') via epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol, while the Parasympathetic branch controls internal restoration ('rest and digest') via acetylcholine.

Primary Tissue Categories

The four main body tissue classifications: Epithelial (lining/barrier), Connective (extracellular matrix support), Muscle (contractile skeletal, cardiac, smooth fibers), and Nervous (signal-transmitting neurons and supporting neuroglia).

Granulocytes and Agranulocytes

Classifications of leukocytes based on microscopic cytoplasmic appearance: Granulocytes include neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils, whereas Agranulocytes include lymphocytes and monocytes.

White Blood Cell Neoplasms and Infections

Pathologies affecting WBCs, including Leukemia (bone marrow WBC cancer), Infectious Mononucleosis (saliva-borne EBV infection), and Lymphoma (lymphatic cancer subtyped as Hodgkin's with Reed-Sternberg cells or Non-Hodgkin's).

Electrophysiologic Properties of Myocytes

Intrinsic functional attributes of myocardial tissue comprising Automaticity (spontaneous impulse generation), Excitability (ability to respond to electrical impulses), Conductivity (ability to transmit electrical impulses), and Contractility (ability of muscle fibers to shorten).

Normal Hematologic Parameters

Standard lab reference values: Leukocyte count ($4{,}800 - 10{,}800\,\text{cells}/\mu\text{L}$), Hemoglobin ($12 - 14.6\,\text{g/dL}$), Hematocrit ($35\% - 46\%$), Erythrocyte count ($3.825\,\text{million}/\mu\text{L}$), and Platelet count ($150{,}000 - 400{,}000/\mu\text{L}$).