Blood and Vascular Disorders Lecture

Vocabulary flashcards covering hematologic and vascular pathologies including anemias, clotting disorders, leukemias, and arterial/venous diseases from the lecture.

Blood dyscrasias

An abnormal or pathologic condition of the blood.

Anemia

A condition characterized by reduced oxygen transport in the blood due to a decrease in hemoglobin content, resulting from declining production of hemoglobin, a decrease in erythrocytes, or both.

Dyspnea

Difficulty breathing or feeling short of breath, often seen as a general sign of anemia.

Stomatitis

Ulcers in the mouth caused by decreased regeneration of epithelial cells and inflammation of the digestive tract.

Microcytic

Abnormally small red blood cells, commonly observed in iron deficiency anemia.

Hypochromic

Red blood cells having less color than normal, lacking the typical bright red appearance due to decreased hemoglobin.

Pernicious anemia

A type of megaloblastic anemia where erythrocytes are very large and immature, caused by a deficit of folic acid or vitamin $B_{12}$ due to a lack of intrinsic factor.

Intrinsic factor

A substance produced in the glands of the gastric mucosa that normally binds with vitamin $B_{12}$ to enable its absorption.

Aplastic anemia

An impairment or failure of bone marrow function that leads to the loss of stem cells and pancytopenia.

Pancytopenia

A decreased number of erythrocytes, leukocytes, and platelets in the blood.

Petechiae

Flat, bright red, pinpoint hemorrhages on the skin caused by bleeding or low platelet counts.

Myelotoxins

Substances such as radiation, industrial chemicals, or specific medications that cause damage to the bone marrow.

Sickle cell anemia

An inherited disorder where red blood cells change from a normal round shape into an abnormal crescent or sickle shape, causing cell membrane damage, hemolysis, and vascular occlusions.

Thalassemia

The most common genetic disorder in the world, characterized by a missing or variant gene for hemoglobin synthesis, resulting in reduced red blood cell count and increased hemolysis.

Iron chelation

Medical therapy using medications that bind to excess iron and remove it from the body in cases of iron overload.

Ecchymosis

Frequent or excessive bruising under the skin.

Hemoptysis

The coughing up of blood.

Hematemesis

The vomiting of blood.

Thrombocytopenia

A condition defined by an abnormally low blood platelet count, leading to excessive bleeding.

Hemophilia A

Classic hemophilia; an X-linked recessive inherited clotting disorder characterized by a deficit or abnormality of clotting factor VIII.

Von Willebrand disease

The most common hereditary bleeding disorder, caused by a deficiency of von Willebrand factor, which normally helps platelets adhere to damaged vessel walls.

Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)

A severe disorder involving simultaneous excessive clotting and bleeding caused by endothelial damage or thromboplastin release, leading to multiple infarctions and depletion of platelets and clotting factors.

Polycythemia vera

A disorder involving increased production of erythrocytes and other cells in the bone marrow, resulting in increased blood volume, sluggish blood flow, and high blood viscosity.

Acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL)

The most common childhood cancer, occurring mainly between ages $2$ and $5$, accounting for $80\%$ of childhood leukemia cases and characterized by proliferation of immature leukocytes.

Arteriosclerosis

A general term used to describe all types of degenerative arterial changes.

Atherosclerosis

A vascular disease characterized by atheromas (plaques consisting of lipids, cholesterol, and other materials) that form inside the walls of large arteries.

Intermittent claudication

Leg pain associated with exercise that results from arterial ischemia and subsides with rest.

Low-density lipoprotein (LDL)

Lipoprotein that transports cholesterol from the liver to the cells, serving as a major contributing factor to atheroma plaque formation.

High-density lipoprotein (HDL)

Lipoprotein that transports cholesterol away from peripheral cells back to the liver for excretion.

Aortic aneurysm

A localized dilation and weakening of an arterial wall, commonly occurring in the abdominal or thoracic aorta.

Varicose veins

Irregular, dilated, and tortuous areas of superficial or deep veins developing from defects or weakness in the vein walls or incompetent valves.

Thrombophlebitis

Inflammation of a vein that leads to the development of an adherent thrombus or clot.

Phlebothrombosis

A thrombus formed spontaneously in a vein without prior inflammation, which is loosely attached and typically silent or asymptomatic.

Homan's sign

Calf pain elicited upon dorsiflexion of the foot, historically used as a diagnostic assessment for deep vein thrombosis (DVT).