医护英语(diseases+and+disorders)(text+ab).docVIP

Passage One Human Diseases In this passage you will learn: disease and pathology the classification of diseases germs’ invasion of the human body the body’s defense against invasion the body’s immunity to diseases The brief survey of the human body in Chapter One has given us a glimpse into two different studies that are considered the fundamentals of medical sciences, namely anatomy and physiology. However, the picture is not complete without considering pathology, the science that deals with the structural and functional changes produced by the disease. In fact, the modern approach to the study of disorder emphasizes the close relationship of the pathological and physiological aspects and the need to understand the fundamentals of each in treating any body diseases. Then what is a disease? It may be defined as a condition that impairs the proper function of the body or of one of its parts. Every living thing, both plants and animals, can succumb to disease. People, for example, are often infected by tiny bacteria, but bacteria, in turn, can be infected by even more minute viruses. Hundreds of different diseases exist. Each has its own particular set of symptoms and signs, clues that enable a physician to diagnose the problem. A symptom is something a patient can detect, such as fever, bleeding, or pain. A sign is something a doctor can detect, such as a swollen blood vessel or an enlarged internal body organ. Diseases can be classified differently. For instance, an epidemic disease is one that strikes many persons in a community. When it strikes the same region year after year it is an endemic disease. An acute disease has a quick onset and runs a short course. An acute heart attack, for example, often hits without warning and can be quickly fatal. A chronic disease has a slow onset and runs a sometimes years-long course. The gradual onset and long course of rheumatic fever makes it a chronic ailment. Between the acute and chronic, another type is called