Patho Unit 1 Vocab

Pathophysiology

the study of the body’s response to dysfunction/disease

Disease

an interruption, cessation, or disorder of a body system or organ structure

Etiology

causative factors of a particular disease (ex: flu virus)

Predisposing factors

tendencies that promote the development of a disease (ex: smoking)

Diagnosis

designation as to the nature or cause of a health problem

What are lab tests interpreted based off of

Reliability, validity, sensitivity, and specificity

Gross level

structural changes that can be seen with the naked eye

Biopsy

excision of small amounts of living tissue

Pathogenesis

the development of the disease structurally

Clinical course

the evolution of a disease

Acute disease

develops and resolves quickly (common cold, flu)

Chronic disease

develops gradually and persists for a long time, generally over 6 months (diabetes)

Subclinical state

pathologic changes occur, but there are no obvious manifestations —> no symptoms, but signs present (TB)

Latent state

no symptoms or clinical signs present

prodromal period

the early development of an infectious disease when there are symptoms, but not specific ones

Convalescence

period of recovery

Precipitating factor

a condition that triggers an acute episode/complication (smoking triggering asthma)

morphologic changes

structural changes of tissues and cells that cause or are caused by disease

Epidemiology

the study of distribution, patterns, causes, and risk factors of diseases in populations

Morbidity

the amount of people with a disease within a group

Mortality

the number of deaths resulting from a disease in a specific time period

Incidence

the number of new cases in a group during a specific time

Prevalence

the number of new and existing cases in a group within a specific time period

Primary prevention

the removal of risk factors so diseases don’t occur (immunizations)

Secondary prevention

the detection of disease when it’s still curable (regular mammograms for breast cancer)

Tertiary prevention

the prevention of further deterioration/reduction of complications of a disease (antibiotics pre-op to prevent infection post-op