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75 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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African Swine Fever
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an acute highly contagious usually fatal disease of swine that is caused by a double-stranded DNA virus (species African swine fever virus of the genus Asfivirus, family Asfarviridae), that resembles but is more severe than hog cholera (bacterial disease), and that is indigenous to Africa.
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AIDS
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Acquired immune deficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). This condition progressively reduces the effectiveness of the immune system and leaves individuals susceptible to opportunistic infections and tumors. HIV is transmitted through direct contact of a mucous membrane or the bloodstream with a bodily fluid containing HIV, such as blood, semen, vaginal fluid, preseminal fluid, and breast milk.
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Alveoli
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an air cell of the lungs, formed by the terminal dilation of tiny air passageways.
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Anoxic
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the absence of oxygen.
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Antiretroviral Medicine
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medications for the treatment of infection by retroviruses (RNA viruses that contains an enzyme that permits the reversal of genetic transcription [instead of DNA to RNA, it is transcribed from RNA to DNA]), primarily HIV. When several such drugs, typically three or four, are taken in combination, the approach is known as Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy, or HAART. The American National Institutes of Health and other organizations recommend offering antiretroviral treatment to all patients with AIDS.
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Apnea
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the cessation of breathing.
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Argyll Robertsons Pupil
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bilateral small pupils that constrict when the patient focuses on a near object (they “accommodate”), but do not constrict when exposed to bright light (they do not “react” to light).
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Asphyxiate
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a condition caused by the inadequate intake of oxygen.
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Asthma
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a chronic lung disorder that is marked by recurring episodes of airway obstruction (as from bronchospasm) manifested by labored breathing accompanied especially by wheezing and coughing and by a sense of constriction in the chest, and that is triggered by hyperreactivity to various stimuli (as allergens or rapid change in air temperature).
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Bacilla
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any rod-shaped or cylindrical bacterium of the genus Bacillus, comprise spore-producing bacteria.
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Blood Pressure
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refers to the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels, and constitutes one of the principal vital signs.
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Cerebral Hemorrhage
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hemorrhage from a blood vessel into the cerebrum, often followed by neurologic damage; a type of stroke.
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Cervical Lymphadenitis
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refers to an infection of the lymph nodes in the neck, by either a virus or bacteria. The lymphatic system is a complex arrangement of vessels and nodes which play a key role in the body's defense against infection. Lymph nodes, sometimes referred to as "swollen glands", can become infected in the neck (just under jaw line) secondary to an infection in the throat (pharyngitis) or tonsils (tonsillitis).
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Cesarean Delivery
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is a surgical procedure in which one or more incisions are made through a mother's abdomen and uterus to deliver one or more babies, or, rarely, to remove a dead fetus. A late-term abortion using Caesarean section procedures is termed a hysterectomy abortion and is very rarely performed.
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Cholera
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a devastating and sometimes lethal bacterial disease with intense vomiting and profuse watery diarrhea leading to dehydration which, unless immediately treated, may be fatal. The bacterium is contracted by drinking contaminated water. The key to treating cholera is prompt and complete replacement of fluid and salt lost through diarrhea. Rehydrating with the oral solution promptly and completely results in less than 1% of cholera patients dying. Antibiotics do shorten the course of the disease but are not a critical as rehydration.
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Coma
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a state of prolonged unconsciousness, including a lack of response to stimuli, from which it is impossible to rouse a person.
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CT Scan
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Computed Tomography (CT) is a medical imaging method employing tomography (technique used to get an X-ray photography of a certain plane section of the body). Digital geometry processing is used to generate a three-dimensional image of the inside of an object or person from a large series of two-dimensional X-ray images taken around a single axis of rotation.
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Dysentery
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an inflammatory disorder of the lower intestinal tract, usually caused by a bacterial, parasitic, or protozoan infection and resulting in pain, fever, and severe diarrhea, often accompanied by the passage of blood and mucus.
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Dystrophic Calcification
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the calcification occurring in degenerated or necrotic (dead) tissue, as in hyalinized (having a structureless and transparent substance because of necrotic tissue in the skin) scars, degenerated foci in leiomyomas (non cancerous tumor that consists of nonstriated [unstriped] muscular tissue), and caseous (necrosis where the tissue changes into a substance that looks like soft cheese) nodules (mass of rounded protuberances, i.e. a timorous growth). This occurs as a reaction to tissue damage including as a consequence of medical device implantation. Dystrophic calcification can occur even if the amount of calcium in the blood is not elevated. Calcification can occur in dead or degenerated tissue. Calcium salt deposits aggregate, first in the mitochondria, and progressively throughout the cell.
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Eclampsia
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having a convulsion and a coma in a pregnant or puerperal woman, associated with preeclampsia, i.e., with hypertension, edema, and/or proteinuria.
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Epidemiology
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branch of medicine that deals with the study of the causes, distribution, and control of disease in populations.
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Ethambutol
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eliminates certain bacteria that cause tuberculosis (TB). It is used with other medicines to treat tuberculosis and to prevent you from giving the infection to others. This medication is sometimes prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.
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Gangreen
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a serious and potentially life-threatening condition that arises when a considerable mass of body tissue dies. This may occur after an injury or infection, or in people suffering from any chronic health problem affecting blood circulation. The prime cause of gangrene is reduced blood supply to the affected tissues, which results in cell death.
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Gastritis
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an inflammation of the lining of the stomach, and has many possible causes. The main acute causes are excessive alcohol consumption or prolonged use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (also known as NSAIDs) such as aspirin or ibuprofen. Sometimes gastritis develops after major surgery, traumatic injury, burns, or severe infections. Gastritis may also occur in those who have had weight loss surgery resulting in the banding or reconstruction of the digestive tract.
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Gout
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recurrent acute arthritis (inflammation) of peripheral joints caused by the accumulation of monosodium urate crystals. Often presents as pain and swelling confined to one joint. The big toe joint is commonly affected.
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Gynecological
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the medical practice dealing with the health of the female reproductive system (uterus, vagina, and ovaries). Literally, outside medicine, it means "the science of women.”
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Hepatitis
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an inflammation of the liver characterized by the presence of inflammatory cells in the tissue of the organ. Hepatitis may occur with limited or no symptoms, but often leads to jaundice, anorexia (poor appetite) and malaise (bodily discomfort after the onset of an illness). Hepatitis is acute when it lasts less than six months and chronic when it persists longer.
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HIV
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is a lent virus (a member of the retrovirus family) that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in humans in which the immune system begins to fail, leading to life-threatening opportunistic infections. Infection with HIV occurs by the transfer of blood, semen, vaginal fluid, pre-ejaculate, or breast milk. Within these bodily fluids, HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells. The four major routes of transmission are unsafe sex, contaminated needles, breast milk, and transmission from an infected mother to her baby at birth (prenatal).
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Horner's Syndrome
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results from an interruption of the sympathetic nerve supply to the eye and is characterized by the classic triad of miosis (constriction of the pupil), partial ptosis (drooping eyelid), and loss of hemifacial sweating.
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Hydrocephalic
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congenital condition in which an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the cerebral ventricles causes enlargement of the skull and compression of the brain, destroying much of the neural tissue.
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Hyperkalemia
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the presence of an abnormally high concentration of potassium in the blood.
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Hypocalcemia
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the presence of low serum calcium levels in the blood, usually taken as less than 2.1 mmol/L or 9 mg/dl or an ionized calcium level mm of less than 1.1 mmol/L (4.5 mg/dL). It is a type of electrolyte disturbance. In the blood, about half of all calcium is bound to proteins such as serum albumin, but it is the unbound, or ionized, calcium that the body regulates. If a person has abnormal levels of blood proteins, then the plasma calcium may be inaccurate. The ionized calcium level is considered more clinically accurate in this case. In the setting of low serum albumin.
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Hypothyroidism
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the disease state in humans and animals caused by insufficient production of thyroid hormone by the thyroid gland. Cretinism (condition during fetal development that is seen in childhood by a dwarfed height, dystrophy (poor nutrition) of the bones, a low basal metabolism and mental retardation) is a form of hypothyroidism found in infants.
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Indinavir
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used to treat human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in adults. It belongs to a class of drugs called protease inhibitors, which slow the spread of HIV infection in the body. It is usually taken with other antiviral medications. Indinavir is not a cure and may not decrease the number of HIV-related illnesses. Indinavir does not prevent the spread of HIV to other people.
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Intramuscular
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situated within, occurring within, or administered by entering a muscle.
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Intravenously
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through or within a vein. More commonly known as an I.V.
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Kwashiorkor
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a type of malnutrition with controversial causes, but it is commonly believed to be caused by insufficient protein intake. It usually affects children aged 1–4 years, although it also occurs in older children and adults. Jamaican pediatrician Cicely D. Williams introduced the name into international scientific circles in her 1935 Lancet article. When a child is nursing, it receives certain amino acids vital to growth from its mother's milk. When the child is weaned, if the diet that replaces the milk is high in starches and carbohydrates, and deficient in protein (as is common in parts of the world where the bulk of the diet consists of starchy vegetables, or where famine has struck), the child may develop kwashiorkor.
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Lassitude
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a state of awareness describing a range of afflictions, usually associated with physical and/or mental weakness, though varying from a general state of lethargy to a specific work-induced burning sensation within one's muscles.
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Lysosomes
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cell organelles containing enzymes that digests particles and that disintegrates the cell after it has died.
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Malaria
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a mosquito-borne infectious disease caused by a eukaryotic protist of the genus Plasmodium. It is naturally transmitted by the bite of a female Anopheles mosquito. When a mosquito bites an infected person, a small amount of blood is taken, which contains malaria parasites. These develop within the mosquito, and about one week later, when the mosquito takes its next blood meal, the parasites are injected with the mosquito's saliva into the person being bitten. After a period of between two weeks and several months (occasionally years) spent in the liver, the malaria parasites start to multiply within red blood cells, causing symptoms that include fever, and headache. In severe cases the disease worsens leading to hallucinations, coma, and death.
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Medevac Flight
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is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being evacuated from the battlefield or to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of an accident to receiving medical facilities using medically equipped ground vehicles (ambulances) or aircraft (air ambulances). Examples include civilian EMT vehicles, civilian aeromedical helicopter services, and Army air ambulances. This term also covers the transfer of patients from the battlefield to a treatment facility or from one treatment facility to another by medical personnel, such as from a Navy ship to a shore-based naval hospital.
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Meningitis
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inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. Meningitis may develop in response to a number of causes, most prominently bacteria, viruses and other infectious agents, but also physical injury, cancer, or certain drugs. While some forms of meningitis are mild and resolve on their own, meningitis is a potentially serious condition due to the proximity of the inflammation to the brain and spinal cord.
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Metastasize
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to spread to another part of the body, usually through the blood vessels, lymph channels or spinal fluid.
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Metastatic Calcification
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deposition of calcium salts in otherwise normal tissue, because of elevated serum levels of calcium in blood, which can occur because of deranged metabolism as well as increased absorption or decreased excretion of calcium and related minerals.
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Morbidity
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an incidence of ill health. It is measured in various ways, often by the probability that a randomly selected individual in a population at some date and location would become seriously ill in some period of time. Contrast to mortality.
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Mortality
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the ratio of deaths in an area to the population of that area in a given period; expressed per 1000 per year.
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Multi-Drug-Resistant Tuberculosis
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defined as TB that is resistant at least to isoniazid (INH) and rifampicin (RMP), the two most powerful first-line anti-TB. MDR-TB develops during treatment of fully-sensitive TB when the course of antibiotics is interrupted and the levels of drug in the body are insufficient to kill 100% of bacteria. This can happen for a number of reasons: Patients may feel better and halt their antibiotic course, drug supplies may run out or become scarce, or patients may forget to take their medication from time to time. MDR-TB is spread from person to person as readily as drug-sensitive TB and in the same manner.
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Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma
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cancer that occurs in the nasopharynx, which is located behind your nose and above the back of your throat.
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Obstetrics
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art and science of managing pregnancy, labor and the puerperium (the time after delivery).
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Oculomotor nerve paralysis
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an eye condition resulting from damage to the third cranial nerve or a branch thereof. As the name suggests, the oculomotor nerve supplies the majority of the muscles controlling eye movements. Thus, damage to this nerve will result in the affected individual being unable to move their eye normally.
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Oncologist
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is the branch of medicine that studies tumors (cancer) and seeks to understand their development, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention. A medical professional who practices oncology is an oncologist.
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Palliation
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palliative care (from Latin palliare, to cloak) is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of disease symptoms, rather than halting or delaying progression of the disease itself or providing a cure. The goal is to prevent and relieve suffering and to improve quality of life for people facing serious, complex illness.
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Parasitemia
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the quantitative content of parasites in the blood. It is used as a measurement of parasite load in the organism and an indication of the degree of an active parasitic infection.
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Penicillin
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an antibiotic belonging to the penicillin group of drugs. It works by interfering with the formation of the bacteria's cell wall while it is growing, weakening the wall and killing the bacteria.
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Pleural Effusion
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excess fluid that accumulates in the pleural cavity, the fluid-filled space that surrounds the lungs. Excessive amounts of such fluid can impair breathing by limiting the expansion of the lungs during inhalation.
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Pneumonia
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an acute or chronic disease marked by inflammation of the lungs and caused by viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms and sometimes by physical and chemical irritants.
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Pott's Disease
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results from haematogenous (originating in the blood) spread of tuberculosis from other sites, often pulmonary. The infection then spreads from two adjacent vertebrae into the adjoining intervertebral disc space. If only one vertebra is affected, the disc is normal, but if two are involved, the disc, which is avascular (having few or no blood vessels), cannot receive nutrients and collapses. The disc tissue dies and is broken down by caseation (necrotic tissue that turns into a soft, cheeselike substance), leading to vertebral narrowing and eventually to vertebral collapse and spinal damage. A dry soft tissue mass often forms at that point.
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Prophylaxis
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refers to medical or public health measures taken in order to prevent disease or health problems, rather than to treat or cure an existing condition. Prophylaxis is also a way to stem an outbreak of disease, or minimize the symptoms of someone who has been exposed to a disease or virus.
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Psychosis
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generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality." People experiencing psychosis may report hallucinations or delusional beliefs, and may exhibit personality changes and disorganized thinking. This may be accompanied by unusual or bizarre behavior, as well as difficulty with social interaction and impairment in carrying out the activities of daily living.
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Puerperal Sepsis
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also called childbed fever, can develop into puerperal sepsis, which is a serious form of septicaemia (blood poisoning) contracted by a woman during or shortly after childbirth, miscarriage or abortion. If untreated, it is life-threatening.
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Pulmonologist
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a doctor whom deals with the specialty of diseases of the lungs and the respiratory tract. Pulmonology is generally considered a branch of internal medicine, although it is closely related to intensive care medicine when dealing with patients requiring mechanical ventilation.
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Radiologist
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is the branch of science where scientists use X-rays to see the inside of the human body from different rays. Radiologists utilize an array of imaging technologies (such as ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)) to diagnose or treat diseases.
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Relapsing Fever
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one of a group of fevers characterized by relapses, occurring in many tropical countries, and caused by several species of spirochetes transmitted by several species of lice and ticks.
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Rifampin
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is an antibiotic that prevents bacteria from spreading in your body. Rifampin is used to treat or prevent tuberculosis (TB). Rifampin may also be used to eliminate a bacteria from your nose and throat that may cause meningitis or other infections, even if you do not have an infection.
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Shunt
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to divert blood from one part to another by a surgical shunt (a narrow tube).
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Sickle Cell
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a blood disorder characterized by red blood cells that assume an abnormal, rigid, sickle shape. Sickling decreases the cells' flexibility and results in their restricted movement through blood vessels, depriving downstream tissues of oxygen. The disease is chronic and lifelong: individuals are most often well, but their lives are punctuated by periodic painful attacks and a risk of various other complications.
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Spinal Tap
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puncture into the arachnoid membrane (thin membrane of the spinal cord that lies between the pia mater and the dura mater in the lumbar region) and withdrawal of spinal fluid, performed for diagnosis of the fluid, injection of dye for imaging, or administration of anesthesia or medication.
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Symptom
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a manifestation of a disease, indicating the nature of the disease, which is noticed by the patient. This may be contrasted to signs which are observed by a medical practitioner.
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Tetanus
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a medical condition that is characterized by a prolonged contraction of skeletal muscle fibres. Infection generally occurs through wound contamination, and often involves a cut or deep puncture wound. As the infection progresses, muscle spasms in the jaw develop, hence the common name, lockjaw. This is followed by difficulty in swallowing and general muscle stiffness and spasms in other parts of the body.
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Tracheotomy
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operation of making an opening into the windpipe.
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Transfusion
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is the process of transferring blood or blood-based products from one person into the circulatory system of another. Blood transfusions can be life-saving in some situations, such as massive blood loss due to trauma, or can be used to replace blood lost during surgery. Blood transfusions may also be used to treat a severe anemia (where the blood is lacking red blood cells) or thrombocytopenia (decrease in the number of blood platelets) caused by a blood disease. People suffering from hemophilia or sickle-cell disease may require frequent blood transfusions. Early transfusions used whole blood, but modern medical practice commonly uses only components of the blood.
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Trichinosis
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a parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork and wild game infected with the larvae of a species of roundworm Trichinella spiralis, commonly called the trichina worm.
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Tuberculosis
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an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis that is transmitted through inhalation and is characterized by cough, fever, shortness of breath, weight loss, and the appearance of inflammatory substances and tubercles in the lungs. Tuberculosis is highly contagious and can spread to other parts of the body, especially in people with weakened immune systems. Although the incidence of the disease has declined since the introduction of antibiotic treatment in the 1950's, it is still a major public-health problem throughout the world, especially in Asia and Africa.
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Typhiod
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a common worldwide illness, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella typhi. The organism is a Gram-negative short bacillus that is motile due to its peritrichous (uniformly distributed flagella over the body) bacteria. The bacterium grows best at 37 °C/99 °F – human body temperature.
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Vector
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an organism (as an insect) that transmits a pathogen from one organism or source to another.
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