Introduction to the Study of Illness - Applied Biosciences for Nursing Practice 1 PDF

Introduction to the Study of Illness N1239 Applied Biosciences for Nursing Practice 1 Natasha Price September 2024 1 Session aims Define key terms and associated terminology related to illness. Identify common causative factors for disease....

Introduction to the Study of Illness N1239 Applied Biosciences for Nursing Practice 1 Natasha Price September 2024 1 Session aims Define key terms and associated terminology related to illness. Identify common causative factors for disease. Consider key disease and injury processes. 2  Defining the terms Aetiology is the cause of a disease or illness. Pathology is the study of the nature of disease. Pathogenesis is the development of a disease process. Pathophysiology is the study of changes to normal physiology resulting from the disease process. Prognosis refers to a likely outcome. Pathology: Pathology refers to the study of essential nature of diseases (medical). Pathophysiology: Pathophysiology refers to the study of disordered physiological processes associated with diseases (biological). Pathophysiology refers to the disordered physiological processes associated with disease or injury while pathogenesis refers to the manner of development of a disease. Another difference between pathophysiology and pathogenesis is that pathophysiology describes the functional process exerted by the disease in the body while pathogenesis describes the chains of events leading to the disease. Further reading: Bloch, Karen C. “Infectious Diseases”, Pathophysiology of Disease: an Introduction to Clinical Medicine. Chapter 4, McGraw-Hill Education Medical, 2019. 3  Illness: Associated terminology Acute: sudden onset of disease. Chronic: long-standing disease process, often incurable. Symptom: abnormality described by a patient. Sign: An abnormality measured/seen by others. Syndrome: a collection of co-occurring signs and symptoms. Congenital: a disease present at birth Acquired: a disease which develops any time after birth. Watercolour of Anne Jewel by J Holt. Image from the Royal College of Surgeons of England, rcseng.ac.uk) 4  Causes of disease (aetiology) Genetic Can be inherited (e.g. cystic fibrosis) or acquired (e.g., cancer). Infection Invasion by “pathogen” (an infectious agent). Microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites. Chemical Exposure; ingestion/inhalation (e.g., asbestos, smoking). Ionising radiation Atmospheric exposure, medical tests (e.g., X Rays, CT scan). Physical trauma Injury; Effects of stress response and immune system. Degeneration Ageing, excessive strain (e.g., osteoarthritis). For more information about genetic disease, see the Human Genome project: Genetic Disorders (genome.gov) (There is a lot of information here- there is no need to read beyond the basics unless you want to explore specific diseases). For more information on how radiation causes disease: Ionizing radiation and health effects (who.int) 5  Disease/injury processes Inflammation Tissue response to damage/infection Tumours Abnormal cells proliferate, causing a mass. Abnormal immune response Undesirable response of own immune system (hypersensitivity/auto-immunity). Thrombosis, embolism, infarct Abnormal changes in the blood and/or vessel walls. Degeneration Normal ageing or increased structural/functional deterioration. Metabolic Inability to process nutrients, e.g., diabetes. Genetic Mutation means that coded proteins cannot function properly*. *Genes code for proteins, the molecules that carry out most of the work, perform most life functions, and even make up the majority of cellular structures. When a gene is mutated so that its protein product can no longer carry out its normal function, a disorder can result. 6 Questions or comments? 7