Homeostasis, Stress, Pathophysiology, and Pharmacology Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering core pathophysiology concepts, stress response mechanisms, cellular adaptations, introductory pharmacology, and foundational immunity principles.

Adaptation

The process of adjusting to the environment as conditions change, which can occur suddenly or over time.

Homeostasis

The maintenance of a stable internal environment in the body.

Blood pH Regulation

The joint mechanism of the respiratory and renal systems working together to maintain blood pH between $7.35$ and $7.45$.

Negative Feedback

A self-regulating mechanism that counteracts a change to restore balance, such as body temperature regulation.

Positive Feedback

A feedback mechanism that amplifies a change until a specific endpoint occurs, such as blood clotting, lactation, or labor.

Stress

Any disruption to the body's normal state, considered a normal physiological process.

Distress

Negative stress experienced by the body or mind.

Stressor

An event or stimulus that activates a person's stress response.

Hypothalamic-Pituitary Axis (HPA Axis)

A complex system that helps the brain respond to stress via hormone messages passing through the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A three-stage physiological response that the body undergoes when subjected to stress, consisting of alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Local Adaptation Syndrome (LAS)

A localized response by the body to an external stressor, such as inflammation occurring at a wound site.

Hypoxia

Inadequate cellular oxygenation.

Atrophy

A decrease in cell and organ size caused by disease, decreased use, reduced blood supply, loss of nerve supply, or decreased nutrition.

Hypertrophy

An increase in cell and organ size resulting from enlarged cellular mass, commonly seen in skeletal and cardiac muscles exposed to prolonged increased workload.

Hyperplasia

An increase in the total number of new cells in a tissue, which is reversible when the stimulating stimulus is removed.

Metaplasia

A cell transformation in which one type of mature cell is converted into another mature cell type to serve a protective function.

Dysplasia

Bizarre cell growth differing in size, shape, and arrangement within the same tissue, which has potential to become malignant.

Percutaneous Route

A route of medication administration involving application to the skin or mucous membranes.

Enteral Route

A route of medication administration directly into the gastrointestinal tract.

Parenteral Route

A route of medication administration given outside the gastrointestinal tract, such as subcutaneous, intramuscular, intradermal, or intravenous injection.

Alternative Medicine

The practice of using non-mainstream treatments in place of conventional medicine.

Complementary Therapy

The practice of using both alternative therapies and conventional medicine together.

Therapeutic Classification

Categorization of a drug based on its therapeutic use or clinical indication for treating a disease or symptom.

Pharmacologic Classification

Categorization of a drug based on its mechanism of action and how it produces physiological changes in the body.

Pharmacokinetics

The study of what the body does to a drug, encompassing absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion.

Pharmacodynamics

The study of what a drug does to the body, including its mechanism of action and receptor interactions.

Bioavailability

The proportion or amount of active drug that enters systemic circulation and reaches the intended site of action.

First-Pass Effect

The phenomenon in which a significant portion of an oral drug dose is inactivated by liver enzymes in portal circulation before reaching systemic circulation.

Drug Half-Life

The amount of time required for the concentration of a drug in the bloodstream to decrease by $50\%$.

Therapeutic Index

The dosing range of a drug that provides safe and effective therapeutic results.

Medication Reconciliation

The process of comparing a client's complete medication history (including prescriptions, OTCs, vitamins, and supplements) against current care orders.

Innate Immune System

The body's first line of defense that is non-specific and always active, consisting of physical barriers and white blood cells like neutrophils and macrophages.

Adaptive Immune System

An antigen-specific immune response mediated by T and B lymphocytes that develops over time and builds immunological memory.

Paratope

The specific antigen-binding site on an antibody that recognizes and binds to a target antigen.

Opsonization

The process by which antibodies coat pathogens to facilitate their recognition and phagocytosis by immune cells.

Agglutination

The binding of antibodies to multiple surface antigens on pathogens, clumping them together to simplify phagocytic destruction.

Cytokines

Intercellular signaling molecules that regulate the immune response and mediate cell communication.

Five Cardinal Signs of Inflammation

The primary clinical indicators of localized inflammation: redness, swelling, heat, pain, and loss of function.