Public Health 200 Exam Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terminology, medical prefixes, and concepts for the Public Health 200 exam.

Lupus

A disease with an idiopathic etiology that is most commonly diagnosed in women.

Helper T cells

Cells specifically infected and destroyed by the HIV virus.

Antibodies

Molecules that provide defense against extracellular antigens like bacterial toxins and bacterial cells.

Allergic response

An immune reaction to a harmless allergen.

Inspection

A diagnostic method where a physician performs a visual examination of a patient's posture and movement.

Degenerative diseases

Diseases in which the function or structure of the affected tissue or organs progressively deteriorates over time.

B cells

Immune cells whose primary role is to recognize extracellular material.

Idiopathic

Classification assigned to a disease when its cause is unknown.

Asymptomatic disease

A disease that causes no signs or symptoms.

Virus

An infectious agent that must carry out its life processes by entering cells and directing the cell's energy, materials, and organelles.

Social support

A key psychological mediator that can dampen the stress cascade.

HPA axis

The system mediating the body's stress response, where CRF triggers ACTH to stimulate the release of cortisol.

Allostatic load

The physiological wear-and-tear and consequence of adapting to repeated or chronic stress on wellness and disease.

Endemic

Describing a disease that is always present at low levels in a population.

Urinary tract infections

The most common type of nosocomial infections.

Allostasis

The process by which the body maintains internal equilibrium in response to stress.

Physiological mediators

Hormones like cortisol and adrenaline that drive the stress response.

Psychological mediators

Nonbiological factors like social support that modify the stress response.

Apoptosis

Programmed cell death controlled by suicide genes that tell the cell to kill itself if something goes wrong.

Autosomal dominant disorders

Disorders requiring only one mutant allele to express the trait.

Oncogenes

Gene types that act as the accelerator telling cells to divide.

Benign tumor

A localized, noninvasive growth that is not life-threatening and grows slowly.

aden-

Prefix referring to a gland.

chondro-

Prefix referring to cartilage.

osteo-

Prefix referring to bone.

lymphangio-

Prefix referring to lymph vessels.

Achondroplasia

An autosomal dominant disorder.

Spina bifida

A congenital disorder.

Heterozygous

Condition where a person has different alleles for the trait being expressed.

Malignant tumor

A cancerous, invasive growth that may metastasize.

Polyp

A benign tumor that projects from an epithelial surface.

Sarcoma

A malignant connective or supportive tissue tumor.

M0

In cancer staging, a code indicating no distant metastasis.