Comprehensive Clinical Nursing & Pathophysiology Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering core concepts in hypertension, acute coronary syndrome, respiratory failure, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

Blood Pressure (BP) Formula

The physiological formula for arterial pressure: $\text{BP} = \text{Cardiac Output (CO)} \times \text{Systemic Vascular Resistance (SVR)}$ (or Peripheral Resistance).

Renin-Angiotensin-Aldosterone System (RAAS)

A neurohormonal compensatory system activated by low renal perfusion that regulates systemic blood pressure, renal blood flow, and glomerular filtration rate.

Baroreceptor Reflex

A rapid cardiovascular compensatory mechanism mediated by pressure sensors in the carotid sinuses and aortic arch that responds to acute blood pressure drops by causing vasoconstriction and tachycardia.

Primary (Essential) Hypertension

Elevated blood pressure that has no identifiable underlying medical cause.

Preload

The degree of stretch of cardiac muscle fibres at the end of diastole, determined by the ventricular end-diastolic volume.

Frank-Starling Law of the Heart

The cardiac principle stating that greater myocardial stretch or ventricular filling during diastole results in a correspondingly greater force of contraction and stroke volume during systole.

Central Chemoreceptors

Receptors in the central nervous system primarily sensitive to changes in arterial carbon dioxide ($\text{PaCO}_2$) and $\text{pH}$.

Aldosterone

A mineralocorticoid hormone whose primary effect is promoting sodium and water reabsorption in the kidneys.

Afterload

The vascular resistance or opposing force that the left ventricle must overcome to eject blood into the systemic circulation.

Angioedema

A potential, life-threatening adverse reaction to ACE Inhibitors characterized by rapid swelling beneath mucosal or dermal tissues.

ST-Segment Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI)

An acute coronary syndrome characterised on a 12-lead ECG by ST-segment elevation and troponin release ($> 14\,\text{ng/L}$), requiring immediate reperfusion therapy.

Cardiac Troponin

The gold-standard cardiac biomarker of choice for diagnosing myocardial infarction due to its extreme specificity for myocardial cell injury.

Primary Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI)

The preferred catheter-based reperfusion method for STEMI that utilizes balloon angioplasty to visualize and dilate occluded coronary arteries.

Glyceryl Trinitrate (GTN)

A nitrate medication used in angina that induces venous and arterial vasodilation, thereby reducing cardiac preload, afterload, and myocardial workload.

Hypoxic Drive

A state in severe chronic COPD where elevated $\text{PaCO}_2$ blunts central chemoreceptors, leaving low arterial oxygen ($\text{PaO}_2$) as the primary stimulus to breathe.

Type I Respiratory Failure

Hypoxaemic respiratory failure defined specifically by a $\text{PaO}_2 < 60\,\text{mmHg}$ with normal or reduced carbon dioxide levels.

Type II Respiratory Failure

Hypercapnic respiratory failure defined by a $\text{PaCO}_2 > 50\,\text{mmHg}$, clinically associated with chronic retainers or 'blue bloaters'.

Ipratropium Bromide

A short-acting anticholinergic bronchodilator that blocks muscarinic receptors on airway smooth muscle to prevent acetylcholine-induced bronchoconstriction.

Pursed-Lip Breathing

A respiratory technique that creates positive back-pressure within the respiratory tree to prevent small airway collapse during exhalation in COPD.

Tidal Volume

The volume of air inspired and expired during normal, resting breathing.

Capillary Shunt (Low V/Q Ratio)

A ventilation-perfusion mismatch characterized by pulmonary capillary blood flowing past alveoli that are perfused but completely unventilated.

Ischaemic Penumbra

The rim of hypoperfused, structurally intact, but functionally impaired brain tissue surrounding an ischemic stroke infarct core that is salvageable with timely reperfusion.

Alteplase (tPA)

A tissue plasminogen activator that converts plasminogen into the clot-dissolving enzyme plasmin, administered within $4.5\,\text{hours}$ of ischemic stroke symptom onset.

Middle Cerebral Artery (MCA) Occlusion

A cerebral vascular blockage typically manifesting as contralateral arm weakness, facial droop, and expressive aphasia when involving the dominant (left) hemisphere.

Circle of Willis

An anastomotic ring of blood vessels at the base of the brain that provides alternative channels for collateral blood flow in the event of arterial occlusion.

Transient Ischaemic Attack (TIA)

A temporary episode of neurological deficit caused by focal brain ischemia without permanent tissue infarction.

Subarachnoid Haemorrhage (SAH)

Bleeding into the cerebrospinal fluid-filled space between the brain and skull, characteristically presenting as a sudden, excruciating 'thunderclap' headache.

Cerebral Perfusion Pressure (CPP) Formula

The net pressure driving blood flow to the brain, calculated as: $\text{CPP} = \text{Mean Arterial Pressure (MAP)} - \text{Intracranial Pressure (ICP)}$.

Monro-Kellie Doctrine

The principle stating that the cranial vault is an inelastic structure containing brain tissue, blood, and CSF, where an increase in one component necessitates a compensatory decrease in others to preserve ICP.

Nimodipine

A calcium channel blocker administered to patients following subarachnoid haemorrhage to prevent cerebral vasospasm and secondary ischemic deficits.

Estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR)

The most reliable overall diagnostic parameter used to quantify renal function and determine the clinical stage of chronic kidney disease.

Erythropoietin

A glycoprotein hormone synthesized by the kidneys that stimulates bone marrow erythroid progenitor cells to produce red blood cells.

Renal Osteodystrophy

Metabolic bone alterations occurring in CKD secondary to hyperphosphataemia, hypocalcaemia, and hyperparathyroidism, managed therapeutically with calcitriol.

Trade-off Hypothesis

A pathophysiology model in CKD where adaptive hyperfiltration in surviving nephrons preserves overall GFR acutely but accelerates long-term glomerular sclerosis and decline.

Uraemia

A toxic clinical syndrome in late-stage renal failure marked by the retention of nitrogenous wastes, presenting with hyperreflexia, encephalopathy, and pericardial friction rubs.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL)

A malignancy marked by the uncontrolled proliferation of immature, non-functional white blood cells (blasts) that overcrowd bone marrow cavities.

Petechiae

Tiny, non-blanching pinpoint hemorrhages beneath the skin directly precipitated by severe thrombocytopenia (platelet deficiency).

Tumour Lysis Syndrome (TLS)

A severe metabolic complication of chemotherapy resulting from massive cellular lysis, manifested by hyperkalaemia, hyperphosphataemia, and hyperuricaemia.

Allopurinol

A xanthine oxidase inhibitor administered to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy to prevent hyperuricaemia and uric acid nephropathy.

Methotrexate

A chemotherapeutic antimetabolite that blocks folic acid metabolism, thereby inhibiting DNA and RNA synthesis in rapidly dividing blast cells.

Transfusion-Associated Graft-versus-Host Disease (TA-GVHD)

A rare, fatal immunologic transfusion complication prevented in immunocompromised leukaemia patients by the routine irradiation of cellular blood products.

Virchow's Triad

The three classical pathological predispositions for intravascular thrombus formation: venous stasis, endothelial (vessel wall) injury, and hypercoagulability.

F.A.S.T. Acronym

An emergency stroke identification tool representing: Face (drooping), Arms (weakness), Speech (slurred or absent), and Time (act quickly to call emergency services).

Cardiac Output (CO)

The total volume of blood pumped by the heart in one minute, determined by the formula: $\text{CO} = \text{Heart Rate (HR)} \times \text{Stroke Volume (SV)}$.

Anuria

The severe reduction or clinical absence of urine excretion, formally defined as a 24-hour urine output of $< 100\,\text{mL/day}$.

Ejection Fraction (EF)

The percentage of blood ejected from the ventricle during each systolic contraction, possessing a normal reference range of $55\%$ to $70\%$.