BIOL 252 - Pathophysiology Exam 1
Questions And Correct Answers 2025-
2026 Updated.
What is the W.H.O's definition of health? - Answer The World Health Organization's
definition of health is the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease and infirmity (physical or mental weakness)
What is pathophysiology? - Answer Pathophysiology is the combination of pathology and
physiology.
Ultimately, pathophysiology is the study of the changes that happen in the body in
response to a disease/how disease may happen in the body.
What is pathology? - Answer Pathology is the study of the structural and functional changes
that happen when a disease is present or the structural and functional changes that may cause
disease.
what is physiology - Answer Physiology is the study of bodily function.
What are the 3 main points that pathophysiology covers in general? - Answer 1. The changes
that occur in the body in response to a disease
2. How a disease may affect overall body function
3. The underlying mechanism of disease (the "defects" on a molecular and
cellular level that may result/trigger certain diseases)
Define Etiology - Answer Etiology is the factor that causes disease
E.g. 20% of people who smoke develop lung cancer - lung cancer is
the disease and smoking/inhalation of smoke is the etiology of lung cancer.
Define Pathogenesis - Answer Pathogenesis is how a disease develops, progresses, persists,
or is resolved over time; the evolution of disease from beginning to end
E.g. High cholesterol levels -> Build up of plaque inside the arteries ->
Atherosclerosis develops -> Atherosclerosis develops so much that it
blocks arteries going to the heart -> not enough blood supply goes to
,the heart -> coronary artery disease arises
Define Morphology - Answer Morphology is the study of the structure, shape and size of
cells.
E.g. Morphology helps with identifying the abnormalities of certain cells (macro and micro) to
identify the cause and/or treatment of a disease
Define Morphologic - Answer Morphologic changes are the changes of cells and tissues
structure or shape
E.g. Changes to the epithelial tissue in the esophagus of a smoker
overtime.
Define Clinical manifestations - Answer Clinical manifestations are symptoms that are
observable when there is a known case of disease and is used to help diagnose a disease
E.g. people diagnosed with COVID-19 who were pregnant mainly showed clinical manifestations
of a cough and fever
Define Prognosis - Answer Prognosis is a prediction of someone's health in future terms
once diagnosed with a disease.
Prognosis can be the survival rate of someone with a disease if treated,
which may change depending on the stage of the disease at that current moment and the
patient's evaluation.
Define Reliability - Answer Reliability is the
the ability for a test to
produce the same result for a disease over and over again
E.g. A positive pregnancy test most of the time means you are pregnant.
Define Validity - Answer Validity is how much a test will be able to pick up certain
abnormalities and if those abnormalities are what it is supposed to pick up
E.g. When testing for antibodies in the blood to determine blood type.
, If you have A and B antibodies in the blood, you definitely have type
O blood - that is the same for each test.
Define Sensitivity - Answer Sensitivity is a test's ability to correctly identify if someone has
the disease
E.g. Sensitivity tests are important because they can produce only a few false negative results,
therefore missing fewer cases of the disease
Define Specificity - Answer Specificity is a test's ability to correctly identify if someone does
not have the disease
E.g. Specificity tests are important because they will only produce a few
false positive results, therefore making sure that people who do not
have the disease will not receive unnecessary procedures
Define Predictive Value - Answer Predictive value is the ability of a test to predict whether a
disease is present or
not.
E.g. The COVID-19 PCR test was 98% effective in giving positive results to symptomatic patients
with COVID-19 while it was 80% effective in giving a negative result to symptomatic patients
who did not have COVID-19
Define Epidemiology - Answer Epidemiology is the study of factors which affect the health
and illness of whole populations; it is the study of the why of a disease.
Define incidence - Answer Incidence is the number of new cases that arise in a population
who are at risk during a given period.
Define prevalence - Answer Prevalence is the total number of cases of a disease in a
population at a given period - can be also described as a disease case.
What are the basic levels of prevention? - Answer 1. Primary prevention
2. Secondary prevention
3. Tertiary prevention
Questions And Correct Answers 2025-
2026 Updated.
What is the W.H.O's definition of health? - Answer The World Health Organization's
definition of health is the state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease and infirmity (physical or mental weakness)
What is pathophysiology? - Answer Pathophysiology is the combination of pathology and
physiology.
Ultimately, pathophysiology is the study of the changes that happen in the body in
response to a disease/how disease may happen in the body.
What is pathology? - Answer Pathology is the study of the structural and functional changes
that happen when a disease is present or the structural and functional changes that may cause
disease.
what is physiology - Answer Physiology is the study of bodily function.
What are the 3 main points that pathophysiology covers in general? - Answer 1. The changes
that occur in the body in response to a disease
2. How a disease may affect overall body function
3. The underlying mechanism of disease (the "defects" on a molecular and
cellular level that may result/trigger certain diseases)
Define Etiology - Answer Etiology is the factor that causes disease
E.g. 20% of people who smoke develop lung cancer - lung cancer is
the disease and smoking/inhalation of smoke is the etiology of lung cancer.
Define Pathogenesis - Answer Pathogenesis is how a disease develops, progresses, persists,
or is resolved over time; the evolution of disease from beginning to end
E.g. High cholesterol levels -> Build up of plaque inside the arteries ->
Atherosclerosis develops -> Atherosclerosis develops so much that it
blocks arteries going to the heart -> not enough blood supply goes to
,the heart -> coronary artery disease arises
Define Morphology - Answer Morphology is the study of the structure, shape and size of
cells.
E.g. Morphology helps with identifying the abnormalities of certain cells (macro and micro) to
identify the cause and/or treatment of a disease
Define Morphologic - Answer Morphologic changes are the changes of cells and tissues
structure or shape
E.g. Changes to the epithelial tissue in the esophagus of a smoker
overtime.
Define Clinical manifestations - Answer Clinical manifestations are symptoms that are
observable when there is a known case of disease and is used to help diagnose a disease
E.g. people diagnosed with COVID-19 who were pregnant mainly showed clinical manifestations
of a cough and fever
Define Prognosis - Answer Prognosis is a prediction of someone's health in future terms
once diagnosed with a disease.
Prognosis can be the survival rate of someone with a disease if treated,
which may change depending on the stage of the disease at that current moment and the
patient's evaluation.
Define Reliability - Answer Reliability is the
the ability for a test to
produce the same result for a disease over and over again
E.g. A positive pregnancy test most of the time means you are pregnant.
Define Validity - Answer Validity is how much a test will be able to pick up certain
abnormalities and if those abnormalities are what it is supposed to pick up
E.g. When testing for antibodies in the blood to determine blood type.
, If you have A and B antibodies in the blood, you definitely have type
O blood - that is the same for each test.
Define Sensitivity - Answer Sensitivity is a test's ability to correctly identify if someone has
the disease
E.g. Sensitivity tests are important because they can produce only a few false negative results,
therefore missing fewer cases of the disease
Define Specificity - Answer Specificity is a test's ability to correctly identify if someone does
not have the disease
E.g. Specificity tests are important because they will only produce a few
false positive results, therefore making sure that people who do not
have the disease will not receive unnecessary procedures
Define Predictive Value - Answer Predictive value is the ability of a test to predict whether a
disease is present or
not.
E.g. The COVID-19 PCR test was 98% effective in giving positive results to symptomatic patients
with COVID-19 while it was 80% effective in giving a negative result to symptomatic patients
who did not have COVID-19
Define Epidemiology - Answer Epidemiology is the study of factors which affect the health
and illness of whole populations; it is the study of the why of a disease.
Define incidence - Answer Incidence is the number of new cases that arise in a population
who are at risk during a given period.
Define prevalence - Answer Prevalence is the total number of cases of a disease in a
population at a given period - can be also described as a disease case.
What are the basic levels of prevention? - Answer 1. Primary prevention
2. Secondary prevention
3. Tertiary prevention
