Pathology, Disease And Epidemiology

Front 1

Pathology

Back 1

Study of disease

Front 2

Epidemiology

Back 2

Study of disease transmission (where, when, how) and disease control

Front 3

Etiology

Back 3

Study of cause of disease

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Contamination

Back 4

Presence of microorganisms on the host (not necessarily pathogenic)

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Infection

Back 5

Presence & multiplication of pathogenic organisms

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Disease

Back 6

Any change from state of being healthy to illness

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Pathogens

Back 7

Disease producing organisms

Front 8

Pathogenicity

Back 8

The ability of a given organism to produce disease

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Pathogenesis

Back 9

The manner in which a disease develops within the host

Front 10

Virulence

Back 10

Measure of the intensity of disease caused by a given pathogen

Front 11

Attenuation

Back 11

Weakened virulence of a given pathogen through repeated subculturing within a laboratory

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Normal flora

Back 12

The normal microorganisms inhabiting a given host without causing disease

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Resident flora

Back 13

Those microorganisms that are continually present among the normal flora

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Transient flora

Back 14

Microorganisms that are only present under certain conditions among the resident flora [“guest” flora?]

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Opportunistic pathogens/Opportunists

Back 15

Organisms (usually from the transient flora) that may become pathogenic given a change in environmental conditions

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Microbial antagonism/competitive exclusion

Back 16

The natural repression of pathogens by the competitive nature of the normal flora

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Symbiosis

Back 17

Two organisms living together

Front 18

Commensalism

Back 18

When one symbiont benefits from the relationship without causing any effect (beneficial or detrimental) to the other

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Mutualism

Back 19

Symbiosis where both organisms benefit

Front 20

Parasitism

Back 20

Symbiosis where one organism benefits with a detrimental effect on the other

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Symptoms

Back 21

Changes in health felt by the patient (not necessarily observable)

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Signs

Back 22

Changes in health that can be observed by examination

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Syndrome

Back 23

The combination of signs and symptoms accompanying a given disease, used to provide diagnosis

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Communicable diseases

Back 24

Diseases that can be spread by direct or indirect contact with the host

Front 25

Non-communicable diseases

Back 25

Diseases that are acquired from the environment but cannot be spread by host contact (e.g. botulism)

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Contagious disease

Back 26

Disease that is easily spread by host contact

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Exogenous disease

Back 27

Disease caused by organisms entering from outside the body

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Endogenous disease

Back 28

Disease caused by organisms already present in/on the body

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CDC

Back 29

Centers for Disease Control & Prevention – central reporting agency in the US for worldwide epidemiology

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Incidence

Back 30

Number of new cases seen in a given amount of time

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Prevalence

Back 31

Number of people infected by a given disease at any one time

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Morbidity rate

Back 32

Number of cases in relation to total population

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Mortality rate

Back 33

Number of deaths in relation to total population from a given disease

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Sporadic disease

Back 34

Disease that occurs on occasion

Front 35

Endemic disease

Back 35

Low numbers of constant infections

Front 36

Epidemic

Back 36

Many people in one area acquiring a disease, with increased morbidity & mortality

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Common source epidemic

Back 37

Arise from many people having contact with same contaminated source (usually non-communicable)

Front 38

Propagated epidemic

Back 38

Arise from rapid person-to-person spread (communicable)

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Pandemic

Back 39

Epidemic spread worldwide

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Incubation period

Back 40

The time between initial infection and appearance of signs & symptoms

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Prodromal phase

Back 41

Phase of initial, mild symptoms appearing in some diseases

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Invasive phase

Back 42

Phase of overt signs and symptoms

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Critical stage

Back 43

Height of invasive stage; if immune response is not sufficient, death will occur

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Period of decline

Back 44

Time of subsiding symptoms

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Period of convalescence

Back 45

Recovery period following decline

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Predisposing factors

Back 46

Anything that makes the body more susceptible to disease

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Acute disease

Back 47

Disease of rapid development, signs and symptoms manifest quickly

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Chronic disease

Back 48

Disease of slow development of signs and symptoms

Front 49

Subacute disease

Back 49

Disease with symptoms intermediate between acute and chronic

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Latent disease

Back 50

Disease in which signs/symptoms appear long after infection

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Local infection

Back 51

Infection confined to one region of the body

Front 52

Focal infection

Back 52

Infection spread throughout surrounding tissues after an initial local infection

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Systemic infection

Back 53

Infection spread throughout the body, usually through circulatory system or lymph

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Septicemia

Back 54

Presence of multiplying pathogens in the blood

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Bacteremia

Back 55

Presence of bacteria in the blood

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Viremia

Back 56

Presence of viruses in the blood

Front 57

Toxemia

Back 57

Toxins (can be released from pathogens) in the blood

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Primary infection

Back 58

Infection in healthy person (previously unexposed) causing initial illness

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Secondary infection

Back 59

An additional infection in a host whose defenses are already weakened

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Superinfection

Back 60

Infection resulting from the destruction of normal flora

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Subclinical infection

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Infection that fails to produce symptoms

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Reservoirs of infection

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Any area that can cause persistent infection (includes human carriers)

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Passive carrier

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Human carrier who does not exhibit signs or symptoms

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Active carrier

Back 64

Human carrier who releases organisms after recovering from disease

Front 65

Intermittent carrier

Back 65

Human carrier who periodically releases organisms

Front 66

Mixed infection

Back 66

Any infection caused by two or more pathogens

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Zoonoses

Back 67

Animal carriers, carry diseases that primarily cause diseases in animals but can be pathogenic in humans (e.g. rabies)

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Direct contact transmission

Back 68

Transmission spread by person-to-person body contact

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Indirect contact transmission

Back 69

Contact from person to person through an inanimate object

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Fomite

Back 70

Inanimate object by which indirect contact transmission occurs

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Vehicle transmission

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Transmission of infectious organisms by water, food, air, bodily fluids, through an infected reservoir

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Mechanical vector transmission

Back 72

A disease transmitted by a living vector, such as an insect, carrying pathogens on its body

Front 73

Biological vector transmission

Back 73

A disease transmitted by an insect vector, where the pathogen is carried inside the vector and transmitted through saliva or feces into a bite wound

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Nosocomial infection (endogenous/exogenous)

Back 74

An infection acquired within a hospital, due to the compromised immune systems of patients. Can be from within the patient’s own flora (endogenous) or transmitted from the hospital environment or hospital workers (exogenous)

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Compromised host

Back 75

A host whose immune defenses have been suppressed due to previous illness

Front 76

Emerging infectious diseases

Back 76

E.g. SARS, Ebola, HIV. May be new or may be local/rare diseases that have changed to become widespread. New diseases may emerge from numerous factors including new strains formed by genetic recombination, new serovars of a bacterium, new patterns of distribution because of global warming and the speed of human travel.