General Surgery UTM Final Practice Flashcards

Vocabulary-style flashcards based on general surgery lecture notes covering haemorrhage, shock, various malignancies (breast, thyroid, skin), and specific surgical procedures and signs.

Haemorrhage

The escape or extravasation of blood from its containing vessel.

Primary Haemorrhage

Bleeding that occurs at the time of injury or operation.

Reactionary Haemorrhage

Bleeding that occurs within 24 hours after surgery or injury, commonly between 4–6 hours.

Secondary Haemorrhage

Bleeding that usually occurs 14 days after surgery, often due to infection.

Early Septic Shock

A hyperdynamic, reversible stage of shock characterized by warm, flushed skin, bounding pulses, and high cardiac output.

Late Septic Shock

A hypodynamic, irreversible stage of shock characterized by cold, clammy skin, weak pulses, and multi-organ dysfunction.

Pemberton’s Sign

A positive test for retrosternal goitre where raising the arms above shoulder level causes dilated veins over the neck and upper chest.

Mouse in the Breast

A clinical term for fibroadenoma, indicating a firm, non-tender, well-localized lump that moves freely within the breast tissue.

5 P’s of Compartment Syndrome

A diagnostic cluster for limb ischemia/pressure: Pain, Paraesthesia, Pallor, Paralysis, and Pulselessness.

Sentinel Lymph Node

The hypothetical first lymph node or group of nodes that drain a cancer site.

FAST

Focused Abdominal Sonar for Trauma; a scan used to detect as little as 100 ml of fluid or blood in the pericardial, splenic, hepatic, and pelvic areas.

Triangle of Safety

The anatomical site for intercostal drainage bounded by the pectoralis major, an inferior axillary line, latissimus dorsi, and a line superior to the nipple.

Hibernoma

A benign tumor arising from brown fat that contains serpentine vascular elements.

Dercum’s Disease

Also known as Adiposa Dolorosa; a condition of multiple lipomatosis featuring tender fat deposition, especially in the trunk and girdles.

Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)

A clinical tool assessing eye opening, verbal response, and motor response to determine consciousness level after head injury (range: $3–15$).

Stellwag’s Sign

A mild eye sign in Graves' disease characterized by the absence of normal blinking and a staring look.

Moebius Sign

A severe eye sign in Graves' disease characterized by a lack of convergence of the eyeballs.

Witzel Jejunostomy

A technique for enteral feeding where a jejunostomy is placed 30 cm from the duodenojejunal junction.

Wound Debridement

The surgical removal of damaged or devitalized tissue or foreign bodies from a wound to promote healing.

Marjolin’s Ulcer

A well-differentiated squamous cell carcinoma that arises in an unstable scar of long duration, such as a burn scar or chronic venous ulcer.

Cushing’s Triad

A sign of intracranial hypertension consisting of increased blood pressure (wide pulse pressure), decreased pulse rate, and decreased respiratory rate.

Triple Assessment

The diagnostic protocol for breast lumps involving clinical assessment, radiological imaging (US/mammography), and cytological/histological analysis (FNAC/core biopsy).

Brodie-Trendelenburg Test

A clinical test for varicose veins used to signify saphenofemoral incompetence by observing vein filling after releasing a tourniquet.

Homan’s Sign

A sign of Deep Vein Thrombosis where passive forceful dorsiflexion of the foot with an extended knee causes calf tenderness.

Virchow’s Triad

The three factors predisposing to DVT: venous stasis, endothelial injury, and a hypercoagulable state.

Peau d’orange

A clinical sign of breast carcinoma where dermal lymphatic obstruction causes skin to look like an orange peel.

Thromboangitis Obliterans (TAO)

Also known as Buerger’s disease; a segmental, inflammatory occlusive disease of small/medium vessels primarily affecting young male smokers.

Whipple’s Triad

The diagnostic criteria for insulinoma: features of hypoglycemia, blood sugar < $45\,mg\%$, and symptom relief by glucose.

Parkland Formula

A formula for burn fluid resuscitation: 4\,ml  \text{\% burn}  \text{kg body weight} over 24 hours.

Sistrunk Operation

The surgical procedure for thyroglossal cyst involving the excision of the cyst, the full tract to the foramen caecum, and the central part of the hyoid bone.

Frey’s Syndrome

A complication of parotidectomy (auriculotemporal syndrome) involving gustatory sweating and flushing whenever salivation is stimulated.

Lucid Interval

A classic feature of extradural haematoma where a patient transiently regains consciousness after injury before deteriorating again 6–12 hours later.

ANDI Concept

Aberrations of Normal Development and Involution; a classification of benign breast disorders based on physiological changes across different life stages.

Stage of Plasmatic Imbibition

The initial stage of skin graft intake where a thin layer of plasma forms between the recipient bed and the graft.

Rodent Ulcer

A term for the ulcerative form of basal cell carcinoma, characterized by beaded, pearly white edges and a central dry scab.

Gas Gangrene

Infective gangrene caused by Clostridium welchii involving skeletal muscle as oedematous myonecrosis.

MOHS Surgery

Microscopically Oriented Histographic Surgery; a technique to ensure tumor clearance margins in high-risk areas like the face while preserving tissue.

Ranula

An extravasation cyst arising from the sublingual or mucous glands in the floor of the mouth, often appearing as a bluish, fluctuant swelling.

Leriche’s Syndrome

A condition caused by aortoiliac arterial occlusion presenting with buttock claudication and impotence.

Collar Stud Abscess

A stage of tuberculous lymphadenitis where a cold abscess ruptures through the deep fascia to the subcutaneous plane, becoming adherent to the skin.

Pretibial Myxoedema

A feature of primary thyrotoxicosis involving shiny, red thickened skin on the feet and ankles due to glycosaminoglycan deposition.