Homeostasis

• the maintenance of a relatively stable internal environment regardless of external changes

Seven Steps to Health

1. Be a nonsmoker and avoid second hand smoke
2. Eat 5 to 10 servings of vegetables and fruit a day. Choose high-fiber, low-fat foods. If you drink alcohol, limit your intake to one or two drinks a day
3. Be physically active on a regular basis. This will also help you maintain a healthy weight
4. Protect yourself and your family from the sun
5. Follow cancer screening guidelines
6. Visit your doctor or dentist if you notice any change in your normal state of health
7. Follow health and safety instructions at home and at work, when using, storing, and disposing of hazardous materials

Jaundice

• yellow color in the skin
• sign or liver disease
• results from the liver's inability to excrete bilirubin

Inflammation of the Liver

• causes swelling of the tissue and stretching of the liver capsule, resulting in pain

Disease Prevention

• maintaining routine vaccination programs
• encouraging participation in screening programs
  • Ex: blood pressure clinics and vision screening
• community health programs

Primary Prevention

• the goal is to protect healthy perople from developing a disease or experiencing an injury in the first place
  • EXAMPLES:
    
    • Education about good nutrition, the importance of regular exercise, and the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
    • Education and legislation about proper seatbelt and helmet use
    • Regular exams and screening tests to monitor risk factors for illness
    • Immunization against infectious diseases
    • Controlling potential hazards at home and in the workplace

Secondary Prevention

• happens after an illness or serious risk factors have already been diagnosed.
• The goal is to halt or slow the progress of disease (if possible)
  • EXAMPLES:
    • telling people to take daily, low-dose aspirin to prevent a first or second heart attack or stroke
    • recommending regular exams & screening tests for people with known risk factors for illness

Tertiary Prevention

• helps people manage complicated, long-term health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and chronic musculoskeletal pain
• goals include preventing further physical deterioration and maximizing quality of life
  • EXAMPLES:
    • Cardiac or stroke rehabilitation programs
    • chronic pain management programs
    • patient support groups

Medical History

• essential to identify any impact health care activities might have on a patient's condition, or how a patient's illness might complicate care
  • INCLUDES CURRENT OR PRIOR:
    
    • illnesses
    • allergies
    • hospitalizations
    • treatments
    • specific difficulties
    • any type of therapy or drugs (prescription, nonprescription, herbal items, including food supplements)

Gross Level

• organ or system level
• can be seen with the naked eye

Microscopic Level

• cellular level

Biopsy

• excision of small amounts of living tissue
• used to examine the cause

Autopsy

• examination of the body and organs after death

Diagnosis

• identification of a specific disease through evaluation of signs and symptoms
• more than factor is usually required to verify a diagnosis

Etiology

• the causative factors of a disease

Idiopathic

• when the cause of a disease is unknown

Iatrogenic

• a disease or condition that is induced unintentionally in a patient by a physician
  • EXAMPLES:
    • bladder infection following catheterization
    • bone marrow damage caused by a prescription drug

Predisposing Factors

• the tendencies that promote development of a disease in an individual
  • EXAMPLES:
    • age
    • gender
    • inherited factors
    • occupational exposure
    • certain dietary practices

Pathogenesis

• the development of the disease or the sequence of events involved in the tissue changes

Acute Diseases

• short-term illness that develops very quickly with marked signs
• signs and symptoms are typically extreme

Chronic Diseases

• usually mild condition
• develops gradually
• persists for a long time
• usually causes more permanent tissue damage

Subclinical State

• pathologic changes occur
• no obvious manifestations

Latent Stage

• no symptoms or clinical signs are evident
• remission

Incubation Period

• the time between exposure to the microorganism and the onset of signs or symptoms

Prodromal Period

• the time in the early development of a disease when one is aware of a change in the body, but the signs are nonspecific
  • EXAMPLES:
    • fatigue
    • headache
    • loss of appetite
• laboratory test are usually negative during this period

Manifestations

• the clinical evidence
• the signs and symptoms of a disease

Local

• found at the site of the problem

Systemic

• general indicators of illness
• EXAMPLE:
  
  • fever

Signs

• objective indicators of a disease that are obvious to someone other than the affected individual
• EXAMPLES:
  • fever
  • skin rash

Symptoms

• subjective feelings
• such as:
  • pain or nausea

Lesion

• a specific local change int the tissue

Syndrome

• a collection of signs and symptoms, often affecting more than one organ

Diagnostic Tests

• laboratory tests that assist in the diagnosis of a specific disease
• may also be used for monitoring the response to treatment or the progress of the disease

Remission

• manifestations of the disease subside or are absent

Precipitating Factor

• a condition that triggers an acute episode
• EXAMPLE:
  • a seizure in an individual with a seizure disorder

Complications

• new secondary or additional problems that arise after the original disease begins
• EXAMPLE:
  • following a heart attack, a person may develop congestive heart failure

Therapy

• treatment measures used to promote recovery or slow the progress of a disease
• EXAMPLES:
  • surgery
  • drugs
  • physiotherapy

Sequelae

• the potential unwanted outcomes of a disease
• SUCH AS:
  
  • paralysis following recovery from a stroke

Convalascence

• the period of recovery and return to normal health

Rehabilitation

• maximizing function of diseased tissues

Morbidity

• indicates the number of people with a particular disease within a group

Mortality

• indicates the relative number of deaths resulting from a particular disease

Epidemiology

• the science of tracking the pattern or occurrence of disease

Epidemics

• occurs when there are a higher than expected number of cases of an infectious disease within a given area

Panemics

• involve a higher number of cases in many regions of the globe

Occurrence of a Disease

• tracked by incidence and prevalence

Incidence of a Disease

• indicates the number of new cases in a given population
• within a specific time period

Prevalence of a Disease

• the number of new and old or existing cases within a specific population and time period

Communicable Diseases

• infections that can spread from one person to another

Notifiable or Reportable Disease

• diseases that must be reported by the physician to certain designated authorities
• is done to prevent further spread of the disease & maintain public health
• EXAMPLES:
  • SARS
  • HIV
  • Measles
  • AIDS

Autopsy or Postmortem Examination

• performed after death to determine the exact cause of death

Atrophy

• decrease in the size of cells
• results in reduced tissue mass

Hypertrophy

• increase in cell size
• results in enlarged tissue mass

Hyperplasia

• increased number of cells
• results in enlarged tissue mass

Metaplasia

• one mature cell type is replaced by a different mature cell type
• may result from a deficit in vitamin A

Dysplasia

• tissue to in which the cells vary in size and shape
• large nuclei
• rate of mitosis is usually increased

Apoptosis

• refers to programmed cell death
• a normal occurrence in the body

Ischemia

• decreased supply of oxygenated blood to a tissue or organ

Hypoxia

• reduced oxygen in tissues

Exogenous

• chemicals from outside the body

Endogenous

• chemicals from inside the body

Microorganisms

• living organisms too small to be seen with the naked eye

Initial Cell Damage

• causes an alteration in a metabolic reaction
• leads to loss of cell function