Pathology Key Terms Week 1

Health

Complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not only the lack of disease or infirmity

Pathophysiology

the branch of science that studies structural and functional changes in tissues and organs that lead to disease

Pathology

the study of changes to cells and tissues associated with disease

Idiopathic

a disease that has no known cause

Acute

short-term, with extreme symptoms

Chronic

long-term, developing gradually with lesser symptoms, usually causing more permanent damage

Communicable

Infections that can be spread from one person to another

Comorbidities

two or more coexisting but unrelated medical conditions

Complications

new additional (or secondary) problems arising afer an original disease begins

Diagnosis

identification of a specific disease via evaluation of signs and symptoms

Diagnostic Tests

laboratory tests that assist in diagnosing a specific disease

Epidemics

outbreaks of disease that occur over a given area, with many cases of the disease

epidemiology

the science of tracking the occurrence or pattern of disease

etiology

the causative factor of a particular disease

Iatrogenic

When a treatment, procedure, or error is responsible for causing a disease

Exacerbations

Increased signs of disease

Incidence

The number of new cases in a particular period

Latent

An initial "silent" disease stage, in which no clinical signs are evident

Lesion

a specific local change in tissue that may be microscopic or highly visible

Manifestations

Clinical evidence or effects, the signs and symptoms of disease.

Morbidity

the disease rates within a group

Mortality

Indicates the number of deaths resulting from a particular disease within a group

Occurrence

a disease's occurrence is tracked by its incidence (# of new cases) and prevalence (# of existing cases)

Onset

the beginning or start of the disease process

Pathogenesis

development of disease

Precipitating Factors

condition that triggers an acute episode

Predisposing Factors

factors that indicate a high risk for developing a disease, not not certain development

Prevalence

fraction of a population having a specific disease at a given time

Prevention

taking steps to keep something from happening or getting worse

Probability

likelihood that a particular event will occur

Prodromal

Pertaining to early symptoms that may mark the onset of a disease

Prognosis

a forecast of the probable course and outcome of a disease or situation

Recovery

period of recuperation or convalescence and return to normal health

Remissions

Subsiding disease symptoms

Sequelae

unwanted outcomes of primary condition

Signs

objectively observed indicators of a disorder

Subacute

between acute and chronic, having a rather recent onset or relatively rapid change

Symptoms

Subjective characteristics of disease felt only by the patient

Syndrome

collection of signs and symptoms

Therapy

treatment measures to promote recovery or slow the progress of a disease

Pathogen

a disease causing microbe

Sepsis

the body's response to a bacterial infection in the bloodstream, during which the immune system will trigger extreme and potentially dangerous, whole-body inflammation

Septicemia

a bacterial infection that spreads into the bloodstream

Opportunistic Infection

an infection that causes disease when the immune system is compromised for other reasons