Panhellenic Health Sciences key terms

The body's ability to keep internal conditions such as temperature, blood pH, and glucose within narrow ranges despite outside change, mainly through negative feedback loops that reverse a deviation.

A control mechanism in which a detected change triggers a response that reduces that change, returning the body toward its set point. Most endocrine and physiological regulation works this way.

The core measurements of physiological status: temperature, pulse rate and quality, respiratory rate, blood pressure, and often oxygen saturation and pain. They establish a baseline and reveal deterioration.

The peak arterial pressure recorded during ventricular contraction. It is the higher of the two blood pressure numbers and reflects how forcefully the heart ejects blood into the arteries.

The lowest arterial pressure, measured while the heart relaxes and refills between beats. It reflects resistance in the peripheral vessels and is the lower blood pressure number.

Any microorganism capable of causing disease in a host, including certain bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa. Pathogenicity depends on factors such as invasiveness and toxin production.

A model describing transmission as linked steps: infectious agent, reservoir, exit portal, mode of transmission, entry portal, and susceptible host. Breaking any link prevents spread.

Routine infection-control practices applied to every patient regardless of diagnosis, including hand hygiene, gloves, gowns, and safe handling of sharps and body fluids.

The set of practices that keep an area or object free of disease-causing microorganisms. Medical asepsis reduces numbers; surgical asepsis eliminates them during invasive procedures.

The ability of microorganisms to survive drugs that once killed them, often driven by overuse and incomplete courses of antibiotics. It makes common infections harder and costlier to treat.

Coordinated efforts to use antimicrobials only when indicated, at the right dose, route, and duration, to preserve drug effectiveness and reduce resistance and adverse effects.

How the body handles a drug over time: absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion. These processes determine onset, peak effect, duration, and dosing intervals.

A ratio comparing a drug's toxic dose with its effective dose. A narrow index means small dosing errors can cause harm, so such drugs require careful monitoring and sometimes blood-level checks.

A harmful or unintended response to a medicine given at normal doses. It ranges from mild rash to organ damage and must be recognized, documented, and reported.

A structured process of comparing a patient's full medication list across care transitions to identify omissions, duplications, and interactions, then resolving discrepancies with the prescriber.

A drug class carrying elevated risk of serious harm when used incorrectly, such as insulin, anticoagulants, opioids, and concentrated electrolytes. These require independent double-checks and standardized handling.

The checks performed before giving any drug: right patient, right medication, right dose, right route, right time, and right documentation, plus reason and patient refusal considerations.

A patient's voluntary agreement to a procedure after receiving and understanding information about its purpose, risks, benefits, and alternatives, given without coercion and by someone with capacity.

A patient's ability at a specific moment to understand relevant information, appreciate consequences, reason about options, and communicate a choice. It is decision-specific and can fluctuate.

A legal document stating a person's future healthcare wishes, such as a living will or a durable power of attorney for health care, used when the person can no longer decide.

The professional and legal duty to protect patient information from unauthorized disclosure, sharing it only with those involved in care or as required by law.

Individually identifiable health data held or transmitted by a covered entity, including names, dates, and record numbers. Its use and disclosure are restricted by privacy rules.

The tasks and decisions a health worker is legally and professionally permitted to perform based on training, licensure, and employer policy. Exceeding it creates liability.

Assigning a task to another person while retaining accountability for the outcome. The delegator must confirm the task suits the other person's training and the patient's condition.

The legal obligation to act reasonably and avoid foreseeable harm to patients. Breach of this duty, causing injury, is a core element of a negligence claim.

A factual internal record of an unexpected event such as a fall, medication error, or near miss, used for safety improvement. It is not placed in the patient's clinical record.

The study of how disease and health states are distributed in populations and what factors influence that distribution, guiding prevention and public health priorities.

The number of new cases of a condition arising in a defined population during a specified period. It measures risk and is used to track outbreaks and prevention effects.

Indirect protection of unvaccinated people that arises when a high enough share of a population is immune, slowing transmission and shielding those who cannot be vaccinated.

Testing apparently healthy people to find disease early, before symptoms appear, so treatment can begin sooner. It requires a test and condition where early detection improves outcomes.

Rapid sorting of patients by urgency so limited resources go first to those who need them most. It uses brief assessment of airway, breathing, circulation, and consciousness.

A structured emergency assessment sequence: Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability, Exposure. Each step is assessed and corrected before moving on, catching life threats first.

A life-threatening state in which oxygen delivery to tissues fails, causing cells to switch to anaerobic metabolism. Signs include low pressure, fast pulse, cool skin, and confusion.

The core meaning-bearing parts of clinical words, often Greek or Latin, such as cardi- for heart or nephr- for kidney. Combining them with prefixes and suffixes builds precise terms.

A structured progress note with four sections: Subjective (patient's report), Objective (measured findings), Assessment (clinical interpretation), and Plan (next steps). It standardizes documentation.

Measurable, observable findings gathered by the clinician, such as vital signs, lab values, and exam findings, as opposed to what the patient reports subjectively.

A digital, shared record of a patient's health information across encounters and settings, supporting clinical decisions, ordering, and reporting while subject to privacy rules.

A person's ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make decisions. Low health literacy calls for plain language, teach-back, and visual aids.