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• PATHOPHYSIOLOGY
– Study of the abnormalities in physiological
functions
– Responses to disruptions in homeostasis
– Common and classic presentations of
disorders
Two important terms you will
encounter
• Etiology
– Origin of disease
– Underlying causes and modifying factors
• Genetic or environmental
• Pathogenesis
– Steps in the development of disease
– How the etiological factors trigger cellular and
molecular changes
– Structural and functional abnormalities that
characterize the disease
Pathology the discipline
• Pathogenesis
• Clinical manifestations
• Treatment implications
Etiology: WHY the diseases arises
• Study of the causes or reasons for the
phenomena
• Risk factors
Etiologic Classification of Diseases
Congenital diseases or birth defects
Degenerative diseases
Iatrogenic diseases
Idiopathic diseases
Immunological diseases
Infectious diseases
Inherited diseases
Metabolic diseases
Neoplastic diseases
Nutritional deficiency diseases
Physical agent-induced diseases
Psychogenic diseases
Pathogenesis: HOW the disease
develops
Initial stimulus Ultimate expression of
manifestations of disease
Prodromal period/Prodrome
-appearance of first signs/symptoms (non-specific)
Subclinical phase
-patient functions normally although disease
well established
Acute Chronic
OR
Chronic Acute
Course of disease
• Exacerbations
– Sudden increase in severity
• Remissions
– Decline or abatement in severity
• Convalescence
– Stage of recovery after disease, injury or surgery
– Sequela
• Subsequent pathological condition
OR
• Secondary process arise because of original problem (new
complication)
Treatment Implications
• Understanding causes and processes imply
certain treatment
• Age differences
– Hair color, skin turgor, organ size
• Gender differences
– Hemoglobin concentrations, serum creatine levels
• Situational differences
Deviation from normal should be considered abnormal or an adaptation
mechanism
• Time variations
– Body’s response from day to night, or at varying times
CONCEPTS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
• Epidemiology
– Study of patterns of disease
• Examine:
– Occurrence
– Prevalence
– Transmission
– Distribution among population
CONCEPTS OF EPIDEMIOLOGY
• Endemic disease
– Native to a local region
– Always present in a certain population
– Malaria
• Epidemic disease
– Outbreak spreading rapidly/extensively
through a population
– Affecting an atypically large amount of
people within a population
– Smallpox, Typhus
• Pandemic disease
– Worldwide epidemic
– spread to large geographic areas
– Polio in the 50’s, TB after WWI, AIDS, SARS
Factors affecting patterns of disease
• Age
– Developmental maturity postmaturity
• Ethnic group
– Sickle cell anemia vs. pernicious anemia
• Gender
– Endometriosis (women), hyperplasia of the prostate (men)
• Geographic location
– Malaria, African sleeping sickness
Levels of Prevention
Treatment implications fall into categories of
prevention
• Primary prevention
– Altering susceptibility or reducing exposure
• Secondary prevention
– Early detection, screening and management
• Pap smear
• Tertiary prevention
– Medical and surgical
– Rehabilitation, supportive care, attempts to alleviate
disability and restore function
SUMMARY FOR TODAY
• What is Pathophysiology?
• What is the framework for Pathophysiology?
– Etiology, Pathogenesis, Clinical Manifestations,
Treatment
• Normality in health and disease
• Epidemiology
– Who is affected?
– What are the levels of prevention