Path Health Dictionary

Path: From 1 Different Sources


Pathology

Disease, particularly one with clear and obvious changes in structure or function; the study of same.... pathology

Pathological

Indicative of, or caused by, a disease or condition.... pathological

Pathogen

An organism or substance which caused diseases.... pathogen

Pathogenic

This term means disease-producing, and is a term applied, for example, to bacteria capable of causing disease.... pathogenic

Pathognomonic

A term applied to signs or symptoms which are especially characteristic of certain diseases, and on the presence or absence of which the diagnosis depends. Thus the discovery of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the sputum is said to be pathognomonic of pulmonary tuberculosis.... pathognomonic

Patho

A pre?x indicating relationship to a disease – for example, PATHOLOGY, a study of disease.... patho

Pathogenesis

The ways in which a disease or disorder starts and develops. The term applies in particular to the physiological and cellular activities that are involved in the mode of origin and development of the condition.... pathogenesis

Pathy

A suffix that denotes a disease or disorder.... pathy

Care Pathway

An agreed and explicit route an individual takes through health and social care services. Agreements between the various providers involved will typically cover the type of care and treatment, which professional will be involved and their level of skills, and where treatment or care will take place. See also “care plan”; “care programme”.... care pathway

Clinical Pathway

A multidisciplinary set of daily prescriptions and outcome targets for managing the overall care of a specific type of patient, e.g. from pre-admission to post-discharge for patients receiving inpatient care. Clinical pathways are often intended to maintain or improve quality of care and decrease costs for patients in particular diagnosis-related groups.... clinical pathway

Critical Pathway

A treatment protocol based on a consensus of clinicians that includes only those few vital components or items proved to affect patient outcomes, either by the omission or commission of the treatment or the timing of the intervention.... critical pathway

Pathogenicity

Ability to cause disease.... pathogenicity

Pathogens

Micro-organisms that cause diseases, parasitising plants, animals and humans (see PARASITE). Some organisms are frequently PATHOGENIC, whereas others rarely cause disease. Opportunistic pathogens are those which rarely cause serious infection in healthy people but can do so in patients with weakened immune systems (immunocompromised – see IMMUNITY). Pathogens include BACTERIA, viruses (see VIRUS), prions (see PRION), fungi (see FUNGUS), PROTOZOA and metazoa (multicellular microorganisms called HELMINTHS or worms). The pathogenicity of an organism is called its virulence, which is measured by the number of organisms required to cause disease. The 50 per cent of lethal dose (LD50) is the quantity of a particular pathogen needed to cause infection in half of the hosts invaded.... pathogens

Pathologist

A doctor that specialises in the interpretation of changes in tissues.... pathologist

Potentially Pathogenic Environmental Mycobacteria (ppem)

The atypical mycobacteria. The commonest PPEM to cause human disease is the Mycobacterium avium-intracellulare complex. PPEM differ from M. tuberculosis in their source (environmental or zoonotic), rate of growth, temperature of growth and ability to produce pigment on culture. Mostly infect immunologically compromised humans and the disease caused by some species may be clinicallyindistinguishable from true human tuberculosis.... potentially pathogenic environmental mycobacteria (ppem)

Gambling, Pathological

Chronic inability to resist impulses to gamble, resulting in personal or social problems.... gambling, pathological

Pathology, Cellular

Also called cytopathology, the branch of cytology concerned with the effects of disease on cells.... pathology, cellular

Pathology, Chemical

Another name for clinical biochemistry, the study of abnormalities in the chemistry of body tissues in disease.... pathology, chemical

Pathophysiology

The study of the effects of disease on body functions.... pathophysiology

Accessory Pathway

an extra electrical conduction pathway between the atria and ventricles, anatomically separate from the *atrioventricular node, that predisposes to *re-entry tachycardia. The pathway conducts faster than the atrioventricular node, giving rise to pre-excitation recognized by a characteristic delta wave at the beginning of the QRS complex on the electrocardiogram in normal rhythm. The presence of this pathway, with the occurrence of intermittent tachycardias, is known as the *Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome.... accessory pathway

Continuous Patient Pathway

the route that a patient takes through the health-care system, from first admission to a hospital or treatment centre to final discharge. This may consist of one or more *spells in particular hospitals and one or more *finished consultant episodes. For example, a patient admitted to a district general hospital, transferred to a tertiary hospital for a specialist procedure, and then transferred back to the district general hospital for recovery would experience one continuous patient pathway but three spells.... continuous patient pathway

Integrated Care Pathway

a multidisciplinary plan for delivering health and social care to patients with a specific condition or set of symptoms. Such plans are often used for the management of common conditions and are intended to improve patient care by reducing unnecessary deviation from best practice. See clinical governance.... integrated care pathway

Pathological Fracture

a fracture through diseased or abnormal bone, usually resulting from a force insufficient to fracture a normal bone. Tumour, infection, congenital bone defects, and osteoporosis are among the causes.... pathological fracture

Visual Pathway

see optic nerve.... visual pathway



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