BCPS MCPS Part-1 key terms

The body's active maintenance of stable internal conditions, such as temperature, pH, and blood glucose, through negative feedback loops that sense deviation and trigger corrective responses.

A control mechanism in which the output of a process suppresses its own trigger, keeping a variable near a set point; the dominant regulatory principle in physiology.

The concentration of osmotically active particles per kilogram of solvent, governing water movement across membranes; plasma osmolality is normally about 275 to 295 mOsm/kg.

A pituitary hormone released when plasma osmolality rises or volume falls; it increases water reabsorption in kidney collecting ducts, producing concentrated urine.

A hormonal cascade triggered by reduced renal perfusion or low sodium; renin generates angiotensin II, which constricts vessels and stimulates aldosterone to retain sodium and water.

A sigmoid graph relating oxygen saturation to partial pressure; shifts to the right (higher carbon dioxide, acidity, temperature, or 2,3-DPG) release oxygen more readily to tissues.

Sensitivity is the proportion of truly diseased people correctly identified by a test; specificity is the proportion of truly healthy people correctly identified as negative.

The probability that a person with a positive test result actually has the disease; unlike sensitivity, it depends heavily on how common the condition is in the tested population.

The estimated likelihood that a patient has a condition before any test is performed, based on history and examination; it shapes which investigations are worthwhile and how results are interpreted.

Circulatory failure from loss of intravascular volume, producing cool peripheries, tachycardia, narrow pulse pressure, and reduced urine output; treatment is rapid volume replacement and control of the source.

Life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection; recognised by signs such as altered mentation, low blood pressure, and raised respiratory rate or lactate.

The average arterial pressure over the cardiac cycle, approximated as diastolic pressure plus one third of the pulse pressure; it reflects organ perfusion better than systolic pressure alone.

Death of heart muscle caused by prolonged ischaemia, usually from coronary artery occlusion; diagnosed by typical symptoms, ECG changes, and rise and fall of cardiac troponin.

A clinical syndrome in which the heart cannot deliver sufficient output for metabolic needs or only at elevated filling pressures, causing breathlessness, fatigue, and fluid retention.

A supraventricular arrhythmia with disorganised atrial activity and an irregularly irregular ventricular response; it raises the risk of thromboembolic stroke and requires rate or rhythm control.

A group of metabolic disorders marked by chronic hyperglycaemia due to insufficient insulin secretion, insulin action, or both, leading to microvascular and macrovascular complications.

A hyperglycaemic emergency with insulin deficiency, ketone accumulation, and metabolic acidosis; managed with fluids, intravenous insulin, and careful potassium replacement.

Physiological regulation of hydrogen ion concentration, described by pH, bicarbonate, and carbon dioxide; disturbances are classified as respiratory or metabolic acidosis and alkalosis.

Glycated haemoglobin reflecting average blood glucose over roughly the preceding two to three months; used to diagnose and monitor diabetes and to estimate long-term control.

A patient's voluntary agreement to an intervention after receiving adequate information about its nature, benefits, risks, and alternatives, given by someone with capacity.

A person's ability to understand, retain, and weigh relevant information and communicate a decision about their own care; assumed present unless clinical assessment shows otherwise.

The professional duty to protect patient information from unauthorised disclosure, subject to defined exceptions such as risk of serious harm or legal obligation.

Practices that prevent microorganisms from entering a wound or sterile field, including hand hygiene, sterile drapes, and sterilised instruments; distinct from antisepsis on living tissue.

Complete destruction or removal of all microorganisms, including bacterial spores, from equipment, typically by autoclaving with steam under pressure or by chemical means.

Infection arising in a wound created by an operation, classified as superficial, deep, or organ-space; risk is reduced by asepsis, appropriate prophylaxis, and glycaemic control.

Closure of a clean wound with apposed edges, healing with minimal granulation and a thin scar; contrasted with healing by secondary intention in open wounds.

The distribution of body water between intracellular and extracellular spaces, with the latter divided into interstitial and intravascular portions; shifts depend on osmotic and oncotic forces.

A pregnancy disorder of new hypertension after 20 weeks with proteinuria or other organ dysfunction; it threatens mother and fetus and may progress to seizures or liver and kidney injury.

Bleeding from the genital tract after 24 weeks of pregnancy and before delivery, most often from placental abruption or placenta praevia; requires urgent maternal and fetal assessment.

Excessive bleeding after childbirth, conventionally more than 500 mL after vaginal birth; common causes are uterine atony, retained placenta, genital tract trauma, and clotting failure.

Glucose intolerance first recognised during pregnancy, reflecting placental hormones that increase insulin resistance; it raises risks of macrosomia, birth trauma, and later type 2 diabetes.

Yellow discolouration of skin and sclera from raised bilirubin in the first weeks of life; common and usually physiological, but early, rapid, or prolonged cases need investigation.

A rapid 0 to 10 assessment at one and five minutes after birth scoring heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflexes, and colour to guide neonatal resuscitation.

Feeding an infant with human milk, ideally exclusively for about six months; it supplies nutrition and immune factors and supports growth, bonding, and maternal recovery.

A plotted reference of measurements such as weight, length, and head circumference against age, used to detect faltering growth, obesity, or abnormal head growth in children.

Expected functional achievements in motor, language, social, and cognitive domains at given ages; persistent delay in one or more domains warrants assessment for underlying causes.

A structured clinical description of appearance, behaviour, speech, mood, thought form and content, perception, cognition, and insight, forming the basis of psychiatric assessment.

A state of impaired reality testing with hallucinations or delusions, often accompanied by disorganised thinking; causes include schizophrenia, mood disorders, drugs, and organic illness.

A mood disorder with persistent low mood or loss of interest plus symptoms such as disturbed sleep, appetite change, fatigue, guilt, and impaired concentration lasting at least two weeks.

A structured enquiry into current suicidal thoughts, plans, intent, access to means, previous attempts, and protective factors, guiding immediate safety planning and level of care.