Week 1 - Introduction and Unit 1: What is health Flashcards

1
Q

Define ‘Health’.

A

Health is the level of functional and metabolic efficiency of a living organism. In humans it is the ability of individuals or communities to adapt and self-manage when facing physical, mental, psychological and social changes with environment.
“the state of being free from illness or injury”
“a person’s mental or physical condition”

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2
Q

Define ‘Fitness’.

A

An organism’s ability to survive and reproduce in a particular environment: “if sharp teeth increase fitness, then genes causing teeth to be sharp will increase in frequency”
The quality of being suitable to fulfil a particular role or task: “the medical board assessed his fitness for active service”

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3
Q

Define ‘Illness’.

A

A disease or period of sickness affecting the body or mind.

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4
Q

Define ‘Disease’.

A

A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
“a particular quality or disposition regarded as adversely affecting a person or group of people”

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5
Q

Organ systems are made of a variety of four types of tissue . Name these.

A
  1. Connective tissue
  2. Epithelial tissue
  3. Muscle tissue
  4. Nervous tissue
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6
Q

What is the function of the heart and Lungs? What types of diseases occur when they stop working?

A

Heart pumps blood around the body.
Lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide between the blood and the air we breath in.
Heart – heart attack, body’s tissues no longer get blood supply.
Lungs – anoxia, body’s tissues no longer get oxygen.

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7
Q

What is the function of digestive organs? What types of diseases occur when they stop working?

A

Digestive organs break down food and absorb its nutrients into the bloodstream.
Digestive organs – malnutrition, bodies tissues no longer get nutrients from food.

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8
Q

What is the function of the kidneys? What types of diseases occur when they stop working?

A

Kidneys remove waste products from the blood, regulate blood chemistry and water balance.
Kidneys – metabolic problems with the blood’s chemistry and water balance.

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9
Q

What is the function of Skeletal tissue? What types of diseases occur when it stops working?

A
Skeletal tissue (bone tissue) gives our body strength and structure (also a sight of blood production and mineral storage).
Skeletal tissue (bone tissue) – osteoporosis, body’s bones become weak.
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10
Q

What is the function of Nervous tissue? What types of diseases occur when it stops working?

A

Nervous tissue carries signals from body receptors to the brain, and from the brain to target organs (muscle or secretory tissue).
neurological diseases affecting the ability to think and / or coordinate body processes.

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11
Q

What is the function of Skin (epithelial tissue)? What types of diseases occur when it stops working?

A

Skin (epithelial tissue) covers the bodies surfaces for protection and absorption.
– risk of microbial infections.

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12
Q

What is the function of Endocrine tissue (secretory tissue)? What types of diseases occur when it stops working?

A

Endocrine tissue (secretory tissue) produces and releases chemical for the body. – risk of endocrinological diseases, i.e. Diabetes Mellitus.

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13
Q

What is the function of Red blood cells? What types of diseases occur when it stops working?

A

Red blood cells carry oxygen around the body in the bloodstream and delivery it to the respiring cells and tissues of the body, so that they can release energy from fuels .
– anaemia.

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14
Q

What is the function of White blood cells? What types of diseases occur when it stops working?

A

White blood cells fight off infectious agents (pathogens like bacteria, viruses and fungi) to prevent infectious diseases from occurring, as a result of microbial toxins and growth.
– Immunodeficiency.

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15
Q

What is the function of Gametes?

A

Gametes (reproductive cells – sperm and egg) allow for sexual reproduction.
– infertility.

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16
Q

In evolutionary terms, we need to survive long enough to reproduce so that we can pass on our copies of our genes. Our body’s enable us to carry out the seven key characteristics which enable our survival: (use the mnemonic MRS GREN)

A

Movement
Respiration

Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition

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17
Q

Define Homeostasis.

A

Our body’s need to maintain a constant internal environment, despite external pressures (or insults). The working of all the body’s systems maintains this balance.

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18
Q

What internal factors must be controlled in the human body?

A

Closed (one organ system involved)
Heart rate
Breathing rate
Digestion

Open (more than one organ involved)
Blood pressure
Blood pH
Blood glucose
Blood water / salt volumes and concentration
Body temperature
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19
Q

What five external factors influence the human body?

A
  1. Temperature
  2. Diet / Food intake- amount (quantity)- type (quality)
  3. Water intake
  4. Oxygen / air pressure (altitude)
  5. Disease (pathogens)
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20
Q

Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body :
Body Temperature
What altered state or disease is caused if this is not maintained?

A

37.5 °C

Hypothermia / Hyperthermia

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21
Q

Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body:

Water balance

A

70% body / 300 osmols

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22
Q
Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body:
Salt ion (Sodium) balance
What altered state or disease is caused if this is not maintained?
A

145 osmols

Hypotension / Hypertension

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23
Q
Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body:
Salt ion (Potassium) balance
A

4 osmols

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24
Q
Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body:
Blood sugar (glucose) levels
What altered state or disease is caused if this is not maintained?
A

3.5-5dm/cm3, 90g/100cm3

Diabetes Mellitus

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25
Q

Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body:
Chemical pH
What altered state or disease is caused if this is not maintained?

A

7.4 in blood (ECF) 7.1 in cells (ICF)

Acidosis / Alkalosis

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26
Q

Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body:
Oxygen levels
What altered state or disease is caused if this is not maintained?

A

12kPa / 98mmHg (Arterial blood)

Hypoxia and Necrosis

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27
Q

Set point maintained by homeostasis for a healthy body:

Carbon dioxide levels

A

5KPa / 40mmHg (Arterial blood)

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28
Q

All the control mechanisms within biology follow a series of steps…

A

Set point -> receptor ->  1st signal  …control centre… 

2nd signal -> effectors->  response->  feedback

29
Q

Define morbidity.

A

Morbidity = impaired quality of life leading to altered states and disease.

30
Q

Define mortality.

A

Mortality = loss of life and death

31
Q

Define Public Health Surveillance.

A

The systematic collection, analysis, interpretation, and dissemination of health data on an ongoing basis, to gain knowledge of the pattern of disease occurrence and potential in a community, in order to control and prevent disease in the community.

32
Q

Define Health indicator.

A

Health indicator: A measure that reflects, or indicates, the state of health of persons in a defined population, e.g., the infant mortality rate.

33
Q

Define Agent.

A

A factor, such as a microorganism, chemical substance, or form of radiation, whose presence, excessive presence, or (in deficiency diseases) relative absence is essential for the occurrence of a disease.

34
Q

Define Risk.

A

The probability that an event will occur, e.g. that an individual will become ill or die within a stated period of time or age.

35
Q

Define Biological transmission.

A

The indirect vector-borne transmission of an infectious agent in which the agent undergoes biologic changes within the vector before being transmitted to a new host.

36
Q

Define Cause of disease.

A

A factor (characteristic, behavior, event, etc.) that directly influences the occurrence of disease. A reduction of the factor in the population should lead to a reduction in the occurrence of disease.

37
Q

Define Environmental factor.

A

An extrinsic factor (geology, climate, insects, sanitation, health services, etc.) which affects the agent and the opportunity for exposure.

38
Q

Define Incidence rate.

A

A measure of the frequency with which an event, such as a new case of illness, occurs in a population over a period of time. The denominator is the population at risk; the numerator is the number of new cases occurring during a given time period.

39
Q

Define Prevalence.

A

The number or proportion of cases or events or conditions in a given population.

40
Q

Define Contagious.

A

Capable of being transmitted from one person to another by contact or close proximity.

41
Q

Define Incubation period.

A

A period of subclinical or inapparent pathologic changes following exposure, ending with the onset of symptoms of infectious disease.

42
Q

Define Latency period.

A

A period of subclinical or inapparent pathologic changes following exposure, ending with the onset of symptoms of chronic disease.

43
Q

Define Carrier.

A

A person or animal without apparent disease who harbors a specific infectious agent and is capable of transmitting the agent to others. The carrier state may occur in an individual with an infection that is inapparent throughout its course (known as asymptomatic carrier), or during the incubation period, convalescence, and postconvalescence of an individual with a clinically recognizable disease. The carrier state may be of short or long duration (transient carrier or chronic carrier).

44
Q

Define Infectivity.

A

The proportion of persons exposed to a causative agent who become infected by an infectious disease.

45
Q

Define Pathogenicity.

A

The proportion of persons infected, after exposure to a causative agent, who then develop clinical disease.

46
Q

Define Standard deviation.

A

The most widely used measure of dispersion of a frequency distribution, equal to the positive square root of the variance.

47
Q

Define Standard error.

A

The standard deviation of a theoretical distribution of sample means about the true population mean.

48
Q

Define Analytic study.

A

A comparative study intended to identify and quantify associations, test hypotheses, and identify causes. Two common types are cohort study and case-control study.

49
Q

Define Bias.

A

Deviation of results or inferences from the truth, or processes leading to such systematic deviation. Any trend in the collection, analysis, interpretation, publication, or review of data that can lead to conclusions that are systematically different from the truth.

50
Q

Define Validity.

A

The degree to which a measurement actually measures or detects what it is supposed to measure.

51
Q

Define Random sample.

A

A sample derived by selecting individuals such that each individual has the same probability of selection.

52
Q

Define Control.

A

In a case-control study, comparison group of persons without disease.

53
Q

Define Case.

A

In epidemiology, a countable instance in the population or study group of a particular disease, health disorder, or condition under investigation. Sometimes, an individual with the particular disease.

54
Q

Define Observational study.

A

Epidemiological study in situations where nature is allowed to take its course. Changes or differences in one characteristic are studied in relation to changes or differences in others, without the intervention of the investigator.

55
Q

Define Cohort.

A

A well-defined group of people who have had a common experience or exposure, who are then followed up for the incidence of new diseases or events, as in a cohort or prospective study. A group of people born during a particular period or year is called a birth cohort.

56
Q

Define Population.

A

The total number of inhabitants of a given area or country. In sampling, the population may refer to the units from which the sample is drawn, not necessarily the total population of people.

57
Q

Define Vital statistics.

A

Systematically tabulated information about births, marriages, divorces, and deaths, based on registration of these vital events.

58
Q

Define Endemic.

A

The constant presence of a disease or infectious agent within a given geographic area or population group; may also refer to the usual prevalence of a given disease within such area or group.

59
Q

Define Epidemic.

A

The occurrence of more cases of disease than expected in a given area or among a specific group of people over a particular period of time.

60
Q

Define Outbreak.

A

Synonymous with epidemic. Sometimes the preferred word, as it may escape sensationalism associated with the word epidemic. Alternatively, a localized as opposed to generalized epidemic.

61
Q

Define Hyperendemic disease.

A

A disease that is constantly present at a high incidence and/or prevalence rate.

62
Q

Define Pandemic.

A

An epidemic occurring over a very wide area (several countries or continents) and usually affecting a large proportion of the population.

63
Q

Define Immunity – active.

A

Resistance developed in response to stimulus by an antigen (infecting agent or vaccine) and usually characterized by the presence of antibody produced by the host.

64
Q

Define Immunity – passive.

A

Immunity conferred by an antibody produced in another host and acquired naturally by an infant from its mother or artificially by administration of an antibody-containing preparation (antiserum or immune globulin).

65
Q

Define Immunity – herd.

A

The resistance of a group to invasion and spread of an infectious agent, based on the resistance to infection of a high proportion of individual members of the group. The resistance is a product of the number susceptible and the probability that those who are susceptible will come into contact with an infected person.

66
Q

Define Dependent variable.

A

In a statistical analysis, the outcome variable(s) or the variable(s) whose values are a function of other variable(s) (called independent variable(s) in the relationship under study).

67
Q

Define Independent variable.

A

An exposure, risk factor, or other characteristic being observed or measured that is hypothesized to influence an event or manifestation (the dependent variable).

68
Q

Define Variable.

A

Any characteristic or attribute that can be measured.

69
Q

Define epidemiology?

A

“the branch of medicine which deals with the incidence, distribution, and possible control of diseases and other factors relating to health, within defined populations”.

It is the cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidence-based practice by identifying risk factors for disease and targets for preventive healthcare.
Epidemiologists help with study design, collection, and statistical analysis of data, amend interpretation and dissemination of results.