Comprehensive Exam Notes

Primary Prevention:
- Example: Vaccinations to prevent disease before it occurs.
Tertiary Prevention:
- Example: Counseling on medications to manage existing health conditions.
Latent vs. Prodromal Phase:
- Latent Phase: No symptoms yet (e.g., HIV infection prior to the appearance of symptoms).
- Prodromal Phase: Early symptoms appear (e.g., mild fever before a flu).
Endemic Disease:
- A disease that is consistently present within a population (e.g., Malaria in certain regions of Africa).
Subclinical Disease:
- Disease is present in the body but shows no observable symptoms (e.g., subclinical hypothyroidism).
Etiology:
- The study of the causes or origins of diseases (e.g., smoking is a primary cause of lung cancer).

Allostasis:
- Process by which the body achieves stability through physiological or behavioral changes in response to stressors.
Hormones/Chemicals in Stress Response:
- Key hormones include catecholamines (epinephrine, norepinephrine) and cortisol, which are critical in the stress response.
Selye’s Three Phases of Stress:
- Alarm: Initial reaction to a stressor.
- Resistance: Body tries to adapt and cope with the stressor.
- Exhaustion: Body’s resources become depleted.
Sympathetic Nervous System:
- Activated by norepinephrine; responsible for the fight-or-flight response during stress.

Intracellular Accumulations:
- Can include lipids, proteins, glycogen, and pigments, which may accumulate due to various cellular injuries.
Cellular Adaptations:
- Atrophy: Decrease in cell size due to reduced workload.
- Hypertrophy: Increase in cell size in response to increased workload.
- Hyperplasia: Increase in cell number, often in response to stress.
- Metaplasia: Replacement of one cell type with another due to stress.
- Dysplasia: Disorganized growth of cells, which can be precancerous.
Types of Necrosis:
- Coagulative, liquefactive, fat necrosis, and caseous necrosis, differing in causes and cellular characteristics.
Apoptosis:
- Programmed cell death, an important process in both normal cellular turnover and pathological conditions.

Side Effects of Chemotherapy:
- Common side effects include anemia, nausea, increased bleeding risk, and susceptibility to infections.
Cancer Terminology:
- -oma: Refers to benign tumors except in specific cases (e.g., lymphoma).
- Carcinoma: Indicates a cancer originating from epithelial cells.
- Sarcoma: Refers to cancers originating from connective tissues.
Grading vs. Staging:
- Grading: Evaluates the appearance of cancer cells under a microscope.
- Staging: Assesses the extent of cancer spread in the body.

Hypersensitivity Types:
- Type I: IgE mediated (allergic reactions).
- Type II: Antibody-mediated cytotoxic reactions (e.g., hemolytic anemia).
- Type III: Immune complex-mediated reactions (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus).
- Type IV: T-cell mediated responses (e.g., contact dermatitis).

Diseases:
- Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL): Common in children.
- Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML): Characterized by Philadelphia chromosome.
- Multiple Myeloma: A malignancy of plasma cells that often results in bone pain.
- Hairy Cell Leukemia: A rare B-cell malignancy.
Bone Marrow Transplants:
- Autologous: Uses the patient's own stem cells.
- Allogenic: Uses stem cells from a donor.

Transfusion Reactions:
- Occur when recipient antibodies attack transfused red blood cells (RBCs).
Characteristics of RBCs:
- RBCs lack cytoplasmic organelles.
Iron Deficiency:
- Results in low values of MCHC (mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration), MCH (mean corpuscular hemoglobin), and MCV (mean corpuscular volume).
CO₂ Transport in Blood:
- CO₂ is transported primarily as bicarbonate ions.

Hemophilia:
- Results in prolonged bleeding time with aPTT (activated partial thromboplastin time) and normal platelet counts.
Vitamin K Deficiency in Newborns:
- Can lead to conditions such as melena (dark stools), umbilical bleeding, and hematuria.
Blood Coagulation Tests:
- PT/INR: Assesses the extrinsic pathway.
- aPTT: Assesses the intrinsic pathway.

Venous vs. Arterial Occlusion:
- Venous occlusion leads to congestion; arterial occlusion leads to ischemia.
Thrombosis vs. Embolism:
- Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot; an embolism is a traveling clot.
Atherosclerosis:
- Characterized by plaque buildup in the arteries.

Primary vs. Secondary Hypertension:
- Primary hypertension is mostly idiopathic; secondary hypertension has a known cause (e.g., kidney disease).
Hypertensive Urgency vs. Emergency:
- An emergency includes end-organ damage (e.g., heart, kidneys).
Management of Hypertension:
- Focus on modifying risk factors and lifestyle changes.

Coronary Artery Disease (CAD):
- Higher LDL levels correlate with increased CAD risk.
Types of Angina:
- Stable Angina: Predictable chest pain with exertion.
- Unstable Angina: Unpredictable, may occur at rest, requires emergency treatment.
Acute Coronary Syndrome:
- Involves NSTEMI and STEMI, diagnosed with elevated troponin levels and ECG changes.

Heart Failure Symptoms:
- Right-Sided Heart Failure: Symptoms include edema and ascites.
- Left-Sided Heart Failure: Symptoms include pulmonary congestion and dyspnea.
Paroxysmal Nocturnal Dyspnea:
- Sudden shortness of breath during the night.

Anaphylactic Shock:
- Characterized by hypotension and airway obstruction due to severe allergic reactions.
Sepsis:
- Life-threatening systemic response to infection.

Respiratory Conditions:
- Asthma: IgE-mediated inflammation and bronchoconstriction.
- Emphysema: Destruction of alveoli from proteolytic enzymes.
- Chronic Bronchitis: Hypersecretion of mucus leading to persistent cough.

Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS):
- Characterized by hypoxemia as a primary symptom.

Electrolyte Imbalances:
- Hypocalcemia and Hypomagnesemia: Increase neuromuscular excitability.

Acid-Base Disorders:
- Respiratory Acidosis: Increased carbonic acid levels due to hypoventilation.