Term | Definition |
acute | illness that comes on suddenly and resolves quickly |
alternative medicine | acupuncture, message, chiropractic |
anisocoria | unequal pupils |
cachexia | general wasting away |
chronic | illness that develops slowly, progressive and terminal |
cirrhosis | generalized hardening or softening of the liver |
Creutzfeldt-Jakob diagnosis | human mad cow disease caused by prions |
differential diagnosis | more than one diagnosis for the symptoms presented |
disorder | group of symptoms that points to a derangement of body function |
etiology | the cause of a disease |
evidence-based medicine | using clinical guidelines to make decisions about patients |
fungi | hyphae with spores |
hirsutisim | excessive hair growth |
holistic | emphasizes the need to look at the whole person |
iatrogenic | unexpected bad outcome after a treatment |
idiopathic | unknown cause of an illness |
morbid obesity | BMI >40, BMI>35 if associated with weight related morbidity, >100lbs ideal body weight |
morbidity rate | rate of illness or disease within a population |
mortality rate | number of deaths per population |
nosocomial | hospital acquired infection |
palliative | treating symptoms without a cure |
pathogenesis | the origin and development of a disease |
pathogens | organisms that cause illness or disease |
pathophysiology | functional changes that accompany a disease |
phenomena | characteristics of a disease that occur together |
preventive treatment | smoking cessation, colonoscopy, Pap smear, lipid normalization, exercise, weight control |
prognosis | usual course and outcome of a disease/expected outcome |
risk factors | age, gender, lifestyle, heredity |
sequela | a complication or unexpected outcome |
staphylococcus | clusters or grape-like groups of bacteria |
streptococcus | chains of bacteria |
symptoms | subjective complaints reported by the patient |
syndrome | a group of symptoms related to a specific disease |
empiric treatment | treatment based previous evidence |
teratogenic | anything that can cause birth defects |
modifiable risk factors | weight, exercise, screening |
non-modifiable rsik factors | age, gender, genetics |
epidemiology | science or study of diseases |
candida | fungus such as tinea or yeast |
influenza | virus that causes the flu |
prions | virus that causes mad cow disease |
protozoa | virus that causes malaria and disintery |
pathogensis | origin of a disease |
C & S | culture and sensitivity |
carcinogenic | cancer causing |
auscultation | to listen |
palpation | to feel |
percussion | to tap |
inspection | to look and observe |
umbilicus | the belly button region |
McBirney's point | midpoint between mons pubis and iliac creast of right hip (appendix) |