Unit 12: Disease and Infection
This will form the second part of the research for Aim A1
To achieve the Merit you will need to
Choose 1 infectious disease and 1 non infectious disease
Describe what the disease is and the pathogen that causes it
List the symptoms
Explain how the pathogen enters the body and what part of the body it targets
Describe what the disease does to disrupt the body
Explain How this impacts the human as a whole (including how the body responds) e.g. if
something affects an organ, why is that a problem? What does the organ do?
The section ‘describe what the disease does to disrupt the body’ - use the search term:
‘pathophysiology of [name of disease]’ to get the science behind how it affects body
systems and tissues.
You also need to explain the effects of the disease on the body. If it affects/targets a
particular organ why is that dangerous. E.g if the pathogen targets the lungs, why is that a
problem? What are the lungs important for? What is their role? What would happen if they
couldn’t work anymore?
To achieve the Distinction you will need to
Explain and describe how the disease progresses over time
Describe how the disease affects a person’s ability to lead a normal life
For the distinction level tasks you need to ensure you have a full explanation and
description of the key points. Main focus is on how the disease will progress over
time. It may get worse…and what would that lead to, how would that affect the
body of the person etc
Also, you need to look at how your disease would affect the everyday life of a
person. Is there a lot of medication? Are there restrictions to what they can or
cannot do? Do they have to go to the hospital a lot? Would there diet be hugely
affected?...full and detailed explanations would need to be given
This will form the second part of the research for Aim A1
To achieve the Merit you will need to
Choose 1 infectious disease and 1 non infectious disease
Describe what the disease is and the pathogen that causes it
List the symptoms
Explain how the pathogen enters the body and what part of the body it targets
Describe what the disease does to disrupt the body
Explain How this impacts the human as a whole (including how the body responds) e.g. if
something affects an organ, why is that a problem? What does the organ do?
The section ‘describe what the disease does to disrupt the body’ - use the search term:
‘pathophysiology of [name of disease]’ to get the science behind how it affects body
systems and tissues.
You also need to explain the effects of the disease on the body. If it affects/targets a
particular organ why is that dangerous. E.g if the pathogen targets the lungs, why is that a
problem? What are the lungs important for? What is their role? What would happen if they
couldn’t work anymore?
To achieve the Distinction you will need to
Explain and describe how the disease progresses over time
Describe how the disease affects a person’s ability to lead a normal life
For the distinction level tasks you need to ensure you have a full explanation and
description of the key points. Main focus is on how the disease will progress over
time. It may get worse…and what would that lead to, how would that affect the
body of the person etc
Also, you need to look at how your disease would affect the everyday life of a
person. Is there a lot of medication? Are there restrictions to what they can or
cannot do? Do they have to go to the hospital a lot? Would there diet be hugely
affected?...full and detailed explanations would need to be given
