DP - Disease Process Overview

Disease Process

Introduction

 Have you ever wondered why we get sick, how we get sick, or why we do not stay sick forever? In this module, you will study how your body is designed to fight off disease causing agents and what happens inside your body when you are actually sick. Additionally, you will learn how to organize information about diseases and how diseases are transmitted.

Essential Questions

  1. How does the body fight off disease?
  2. What are the steps in the disease process?
  3. What are the different modes of disease transmission?
  4. How do the components of the epidemiologic triangle interact?
  5. How can prevention activities influence the impact of diseases?
  6. What are the different types of immunity?

Key Terms

  1. Disease - an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism.
  2. Immune system - a system of biological structures and processes within an organism that protects against disease.
  3. Direct transmission - a pathogen is transferred directly into the body of an organism.
  4. Indirect transmission - a pathogen is transferred to an organism by an intermediate such as a fomite or vector.
  5. Incubation period - the time elapsed between exposure to a pathogen, a chemical or radiation, and when symptoms and signs are first apparent.
  6. Pathogen - a microorganism that causes disease in its host.
  7. Host - the organism that is affected.
  8. Index case - is initial patient in the population of an epidemiological investigation.
  9. Agent - disease causing entity.
  10. Carrier - a person or organism infected with an infectious disease agent.
  11. Immunity - resistance of an organism to infection or disease.
  12. Antibody - a large Y-shaped protein that is used by the immune system to identify and neutralize foreign objects such as bacteria and viruses.
  13. Antigen - a substance that induces a specific immune response.
  14. Communicable - able to be transmitted from one to another.
  15. Active immunity - the development of antibodies in response to stimulation by an antigen.
  16. Acute disease - a disease characterized by rapid onset and a short duration.
  17. Chronic disease - a disease of long duration and generally slow progression.
  18. Prodromal period - The period of nonspecific symptoms before a disease's real symptoms appear.
  19. Infectious disease - disease caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi the diseases can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another.

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