Disease: Its Symptoms and Treatments
acute
(disease) of rapid onset and generally of short duration, as
opposed to chronic. Neither term describes the severity of a
disease: the common cold and smallpox are both acute
infections, and athlete’s foot and leprosy are both chronic
| describing a disease of rapid onset, severe symptoms, and
brief duration.
chronic
describing a disease of long duration, sometimes involving
very slow changes. Such disease is often of gradual onset.
The term does not imply anything about the severity of a
disease.
contagious
A term describing a disease that can be transferred from
person to another by ordinary social contact, such as sharing
a home or workplace. All contagious diseases, such as the
common cold, chicken pox, or measles, are infectious, but
many infectious disease, such as typhoid, syphilis, or AIDS,
are not contagious (being spread by other means of
transmission, such as contamination of food or water by
infected human excreta, by sexual contact, or by
contaminated blood).
contraindication any factor in a patient’s condition that makes it unwise to
pursue a certain line of treatment or to prescribe a particular
drug. For example, the presence of pneumonia in a patient
would be a strong contraindication against the use of a
general anaesthetic.
contraindication Any factor in a patient’s condition that make you unwise to
pursue a certain line of treatment – such as drug therapy or
surgery.
disease
A definite morbid process having a characteristic train of
symptoms; it may affect the whole body or any of its parts,
and its aetiology, pathology, and prognosis may be known or
unknown
2
iatrogenic
A term meaning ‘physician-produced’ that can be applied to
any medical condition, disease, or other adverse occurrence
that results from medical treatment. The development of an
iatrogenic condition does not necessarily imply a lack of
care or knowledge on the part of the doctor. Many common
forms of treatment are seldom, if ever, entirely free of
possible unwanted effects. The drowsiness produced b y
some antihistamine drugs is one example.
illness
Perception by a person that he or she is not well. Illness is a
subjective sensation and may have physical or psychological
causes. Illness is also sometimes used as a synonym for
disease or disorder.
side effect
unwanted action of a drug, e.g. drowsiness from an
antihistamine given to relieve allergic symptoms, or
acceleration of the heart by a drug given for asthma. The
term is not usually applied to the toxic effects of an
overdose, but to an effect of a standard therapeutic dose.
sign
an indication of a particular disorder that is observed by a
physician but is not apparent to the patient
symptom
an indication of a disease or disorder noticed by the patient
himself. A presenting symptom is one that leads a patient to
consult a doctor.
syndrome
a combination of signs and / or symptoms that forms a
distinct clinical picture indicative of a particular disorder.