[Medterm] Diseases and Diagnosis [Part 1]

Medical care

begins with assessing a disorder using information gathered from the patient and variety of testing and examination methods. Based on these results, a course of treatment is recommended that may include drugs and surgery

Diagnosis

the determination of the nature and cause of an illness, begins with a patient history

Symptoms

- evidence of a disease or disorder in the body

- subjective cues/indicators

- reported by the patient

- individual experiences

- e.g. stomach cramps, fatigue, etc.

Signs

- manifestation of disease that the physician perceives

- objective

- observed by doctors

- e.g. skin rash, high temperature, high bp, runny nose

Disease

a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that has a known cause and a distinctive group of symptoms, signs, or anatomical changes.

Illness

a disease or period of sickness affecting the body or mind.

Disorder

could be defined as a set of problems, which result in causing significant difficulty, distress, impairment and/or suffering in a person's daily life.

Difference between Disease and Disorder

Disease: A particular distinctive process in the body with a specific cause and characteristic symptoms. (Distinct and measurable)

Disorder: Irregularity, disturbance, or interruption of normal functions. (might indicate that a specific disease is possible but there is not enough clinical evidence for diagnosis)

Etiology

cause, set of causes or manner of causations of a disease or condition

Intrinsic, extrinsic, idiopathic

3 main categories of etiology

Intrinsic Etiology

coming from within

Extrinsic etiology

origination from external factors

Idiopathic etiology

causes unknown

Acute disease

appears sudden and lasts for a short amount of time

Chronic Disease

persistent or otherwise long-lasting in its effects or a disease that comes with time

- inflammation

- phagocytosis

- immunity

Responses to Disease

Inflammation

- common response to infection and to other forms of disease

- innate immunity

1. Heat (Calor)

2. Pain (Dolor)

3. Redness (Rubor)

4. Swelling (Tumour)

5. Loss of function (Functio Laesa)

Five signs of inflammation

Phagocytosis

- used by the body to get rid of invading microorganisms, damaged cells, and other types of harmful debris.

- innate immunity

pus

The remains of phagocytosis consist of fluid and white blood cells, a mixture

Neutrophil

acts as surveillance searching for infection in the large and small blood vessels and capillaries

Immunity

refers to all our defenses against infectious disease. Inflammation and phagocytosis are examples of inborn or innate

Other defenses

mechanical barriers, such as intact skin and mucous membranes, as well as body secretions, such as stomach acid and enzymes in saliva and tears

adaptive and innate immunity

Two types of immunity

natural and artificial

two types of adaptive immunity

algi/o

pain

algesia

condition of having pain

carcin/o

cancer, carcinoma

carcinoid

resembling a carcinoma

cyst/o

filled sac or pouch, cyst, bladder

cystic

pertaining to or having cysts

lith

calculus, stone

lithiasis

stone formation

onc/o

tumor

oncogenic

causing a tumor

path/o

disease

pathogen

organism that produces disease

py/o

pus

pyocyst

cyst filled with pus

pyr/o, pyret/o

fever, fire

pyrexia

fever

scler/o

hard

sclerosis

hardening of tissue

tox/o, toxic/o

poison

endotoxin

toxin within bacterial cells

brady-

slow

bradypnea

slow breathing state

dys

abnormal, painful, difficult

dysplasia

abnormal development of tissue

mal

bad, poor

malabasorption

poor absorption of nutrients

pachy

thick

pachycephaly

abnormal thickness of the skull

tachy

rapid

tachycardia

rapid heart rate

xero

dry

xeroderma

dryness of the skin

cele

hernia, localized dilation

gastrocele

hernia of the stomach

clasis

breaking

karyoclasis

breaking of a nucleus

odynia

pain

urodynia

pain on urination

oma

tumor

lipoma

tumor of fat cells

pathy

any disease of

nephropathy

any disease of the kidney

rhage

bursting forth

rhea

flow

rhexis

rupture

amniorrhexis

rupture of the amniotic sac

schisis

fissure, splitting

retinoschisis

splitting of the retina of the eye

dilation

expansion, widening

vasodilation

widening of blood vessels

ectasia

dilation, dilatation, distension

gastrectasia

dilation of the stomach

edema

accumulation of fluid

cephaledema

swelling of the head

necrosis

death of tissue

osteonecrosis

death of bone tissue

ptosis

dropping

blepharoptosis

drooping of the eyelid

spasm

sudden contraction

stasis

suppression, stoppage

menostasis

suppression of menstrual flow

stenosis

narrowing, constriction

bronchostenosis

narrowing of a bronchus

toxin

poison

acid-fast stain

A laboratory staining procedure used mainly to identify the tuberculosis organism

communicable

Capable of passing from one person to another, such as an infectious disease

endemic

Occurring at a low level but continuously in a given region, such as the common cold

epidemic

affecting many people in a given region at the same time, a disease that breaks out in a large proportion of a population at a given time

exacerbation

Worsening of disease, increase in severity of a disease or its symptoms

iatrogenic

Caused by the effects of treatment

in situ

Localized, noninvasive; said of tumors that do not spread, such as carcinoma in situ (CIS)

normal flora

The microorganisms that normally live on or in the body and are generally harmless and often beneficial but can cause disease under special circumstances, such as injury or failure of the immune system

nosocomial

Describing an infection acquired in a hospital (root nos/o means "disease," and comial refers to a hospital), which can be a serious problem, especially if it is resistant to antibiotics, such as strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA)

opportunistic

Describing an infection that occurs because of a host's poor or altered condition

pandemic

Describing a disease that is prevalent throughout an entire region or the world; for example, AIDS is pandemic in certain regions of the world