ALH 120 Unit 1 Study Questions

ALH 120 Human Diseases

Define etiology.

The study of the causes of disease and the sequence of events leading to its changes/abnormalities

What is the difference between a sign and a symptom?

A sign is a physical observation/measurement (e.g. temperature, pulse); a symptom is what the patient says or feels (e.g. pain, dizziness)

How is a diagnosis made?

By evaluating manifestations — signs, symptoms, and laboratory findings — to determine the disease process present

What is palliative treatment?

Treatment used when there is no cure, meant to relieve and manage symptoms

Define inflammation.

The protective response living tissue mounts in response to injury

What are 3 things may trigger inflammation?

Neutrophils and monocytes

Describe the WBC’s found in inflammation. Which ones perform phagocytosis?

Histamine release, neutrophil exudation, monocyte exudation, regeneration & repair

What are the 4 phases of the inflammatory process?

Regeneration (replacing tissue with the same cell type) or repair (scar tissue/fibrosis via collagen)

What are the two ways in which the inflammatory process may end?

Redness, swelling, heat, pain

List the signs of inflammation.

Chronic results from a persistent causative agent; exudation and repair occur together, involves monocytes/macrophages, lymphocytes, and plasma cells (no neutrophils), and can cause fibrosis

How does chronic inflammation differ from acute?

NSAIDs, steroids, antihistamines, antimicrobials, rest/gradual exercise, drainage of abscess

Describe treatments for inflammation.

What cell types are involved in cell-mediated immunity?

Activated lymphocytes, specifically T lymphocytes (T-helper lymphocytes)

Describe the cell-mediated immune process.

T lymphocytes work directly to fight the foreign invader (antigen), without relying on antibodies

What types of cells are involved in humoral immunity?

B lymphocytes, which produce antibodies

Describe the humoral immune process.

B lymphocytes produce antibodies that bind antigens and tag them for destruction, leading to neutralization, precipitation, agglutination, opsonization, or complement fixation

What are the ways that immunity may be acquired?

Artificial Active (vaccine — long duration, slow to act) and Artificial Passive (preformed antibodies — immediate, short-lived)

Name the types of hypersensitivity reactions and give an example of each.

Type I (allergy), Type II (cytotoxic), Type III (immune complex), Type IV (cell-mediated/delayed)

Describe anaphylaxis.

A systemic release of histamine causing low blood pressure, respiratory distress, and swollen airways — life-threatening

What causes AIDS and how is the agent usually spread?

HIV (a retrovirus), spread via contaminated body fluids through unprotected sex, birth/breastfeeding, or sharing needles

Describe how AIDS affects the immune system.

HIV attaches to CD4 receptors on T-helper lymphocytes, replicates, kills the cell, and spreads, destroying the immune system's ability to activate B-cells

Define autoimmunity and give an example of an auto-immune disease.

An intolerance to self, where the body develops antibodies against its own tissues (e.g. Lupus, Rheumatoid Arthritis, MS)

Define the 4 abnormalities of cell growth.

Compare and contrast benign and malignant tumors.

Name a benign tumor found in cartilage. Name a malignant tumor found in bone.

Give examples of each etiology of malignant neoplasia.

What are the limitations/drawbacks to surgical treatment of malignancies?

What two types of treatment for malignancies are often combined?

Describe the chromosome aberrations in Down, Klinefelter, and Turner syndromes.

How do autosomal recessive diseases usually occur?

Give three examples of autosomal recessive disease.

Describe how sex-linked inherited disease usually occurs and give an example.

What is the usual etiology for congenital defects?

Do the offspring of parents with a congenital defect have a greater than usual chance of having the same congenital defect?