ANGINA: Chest pain that occurs secondary to  the inadequate delivery of oxygen to the heart. Clinical features include: heavy  or squeezing pain in the mid-sternal area of the chest, shortness of breath,  nausea, diaphoresis (profuse sweating), etc. ANOREXIA: A psychophysical condition in girls  and young women, characterized by the prolonged inability or refusal to eat,  sometimes accompanied by vomiting, extreme emanciation, amenorrehea and other  biological changes. ANXIETY: the unpleasant emotional state  consisting of psychophysiological responses to anticipation of unreal or  imagined danger, ostensibly resulting from unrecognized intrapsychic conflict.  Physiological concomitants include increased heart rate, altered respiration  rate, sweating, trembling, weakness and fatigue, psychological concomitants  include feelings of impending danger, apprehension and tension. ARRHYTHMIA: any variation from the normal rhythm  of the heart beat, including sinus arrhythmia, premature beat, heart block,  atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, pulsus alternans and paroxysmal  tachycardia. ASTHMA: a disease process that is  characterized by paradoxical narrowing of the bronchi (lung passageways) making  breathing difficult. Symptoms include wheezing, difficulty breathing  (particularly exhaling air) and tightness in the chest. Factors which can  exacerbate asthma include rapid changes in temperature or humidity, allergies,  upper respiratory infections, exercise, stress or smoke (cigarette). ATHEROSCLEROSIS: the progressive narrowing and  hardening of the arteries over time. This is known to occur to some degree with  aging, but other risk factors that accelerate this process have been identified.  These factors include high cholesterol, high blood pressure, smoking, diabetes  and family history for atherosclerotic disease. BENIGN PROSTATIC HYPERTROPHY: A benign enlargement of the prostate  gland. Present in approximately 20 percent of males at age 40, increasing to 70  percent at 60 and 90 percent by the eighth decade. The condition is asymptomatic  in most patients 5 to 10 percent require surgical intervention. Clinical  features include increased urinary frequency, nocturia, difficulty starting and  stopping the stream of urine, acute urinary retention, urinary tract infections,  etc. BILE STASIS: The diminution (stoppage) of the  fluid secreted by the liver, concentrated in the gallbladder and channeled into  the small intestine via the bile duct. Bile helps in the alkalinizing of the  intestinal absorption and digestion of fat. BULEMIA: A psychological disorder affecting  adolescent girls and young women. The disorder is characterized by binge eating  alternating with normal eating or fasting but without the extreme loss of weight  as in Anorexia Nervosa. CHOLELITHIASIS: The presence or formation of stones  in the gallbladder. The stones are the result of the spersaturation of bile with  cholesterols or impaired hepatic secretion of bile salts and lecitinin creates  an unstable supersaturated solution forming crystallization. Clinical features  associated with nausea, vomiting, right upper quadrant abdominal pain and or  intolerance of fatty foods. CLAUDICATION: A cramping pain felt in the lower  legs while walking often relieved by rest. The pain is secondary to the  inadequate delivery of oxygen to the lower extremities. CONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE: A pathophysiologic state in which  cardiac output is insufficient to satisfy the body’s requirements. The condition  manifest most commonly by pulmonary congestion and edema. Clinical features  include: shortness of breath associated with exertion, difficulty breathing  while lying flat, edema of bilateral lower extremities. CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE: Disease involving the vessels of the  heart, such as arteriosclerosis-group of disease characterized by thickening and  loss of elasticity of the arterial walls. DEGENERATIVE JOINT DISEASE: A form of arthritis that results in  the destruction of the articular cartilage that line the joints. Seen  predominately in the larger weight bearing joints of the hips, knees and spine,  but may also be evident in the small joints of the hands. DIABETES INSIPIDUS:A rare form of diabetes in which the  kidneys are unable to concentrate the urine. This condition is secondary to  either deficient production of the antidiuretic hormone (ADH, vasopressin), the  ADH receptor or deffective collecting duct in the kidney. Clinical features  include: excessive thirst and increased urinary freqency. DIABETES MELLITUS: A chronic disorder affecting  carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism with hyperglycemia as the salient  feature. A number of subsets: Primary diabetes Type I diabetes mellitis. IDDM  (insuline dependent DM) 10 to 20 % of cases; onset under 20 years; normal  weight; decrease blood insulin with islet cell antibodies; ketoacidosis common.  Clinical features include: polydipsia, polyuria, polyphagia, infections, etc.  Type II diabetes mellitis. NIDDM (non-insulin-dependent DM); adult onset over 30  years; obesity; normal or increased blood insulin: no islet cell antibodies;  ketoacidosis rare. Clinical features include: Polydipsia, polyuria, obesity,  etc. Secondary diabetes: hyperglycemia associated with identifiable causes of  islet destruction: inflammatory pancreatic disease (pancreatitis) surgery  (pancreatectomy), tumors (hormonal: pheochromcytoma, pituitary tumors),drugs  (corticosteroids), iron overload (hemochromocytosis). ERECTILE DYSFUNCTION: a consistent inability to sustain an  erection sufficient for sexual intercourse. Also commonly known as impotence.  Medically, the term erectile dysfunction is used to differentiate impotence from  other problems that interfere with sexual intercourse (such as lack of sexual  desire and problems with ejaculation and orgasm). Impotence usually has a  physical cause such as disease, injury, drug side-effects, or a disorder that  impairs blood flow in the penis. Impotence is treatable in all age groups. ESOPHOGITIS: An inflammation of the esophagus.  Predisposing conditions include: Reflux of the gastric contents (reflux  esophogitis) Exposure to irritants: alcohol, corrosive acids or alkalis, etc.  Uremia (an excess of the nitrogenous and products of protein and amino acid  metabolism in the blood. Bacteremia or ulermia with direct infection of the  esophagus: herpes, cytomegalovirus, etc. Fungal infection in debilitated  patients: candido, aspergilosisl, mucormycosis, etc. Radiation and anticancer  therapy In association with desquamative disorders: permphigoid, epidermolysis  bullosa. Glaucoma: a group of eye diseases characterized by an increase in  intraocular pressure which causes pathological changes in the optic disk and  typical defects in the field of vision. IDEOPATHIC STEATORRHEA: Excess fat in the feces from an  unknown origin. INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE: A term encompassing Crohn's disease  and ulcerative colitis. The term arose because of similarities in features and  possible etiologies.Crohn's Disease is an idiopathic chronic ulcer constrictive  inflammatory bowel disease characterized by sharply delimited segments of  involvement associated with transmural, noncaseating granulatomis inflammation  of all layers of the bowel wall. The disease most commonly affects the terminal  ileum (distal part of the small intestine and the colon) hence terminal ileitis.  As the disease progresses, long serpentine ulcers may form narrow fissures  penetrating deeply into the bowel wall. Clinical features include intermittent  attacks of diarrhea, fever; abdominal pain (e.g. in the right lower quadrant)  may be precipitated by periods of physical or emotional stress. Additional  features include: Asymptomatic periods which may last weeks to months  Fibrosing stricture which may lead to intestinal obstruction and some to the  skin. Extensive involvement may lead to marked loss of albumin, generalized  malabsorption, vitamins B12 deficiency with pernicious anemia and malabsorption  of bile salts with steatorrhea. Circulating immune complexes may lead to  migratory polyarthritis, sacroilitis, ankylosing spondylitis, spondylins,  ureitis and erythmia nodosum of the skin. Increased risk of gastrointestinal  tract carcinoma (less than in ulcerative colitis). Ulcerative Colitis is an  idiopathic chronic ulcero-inflammatory bowel disease. The inflammatory process  remains largely confined to the mucosa and submucosa and does not replicate the  transmural involvement of Chrohn's disease. Clinical features include a  relapsing disorder marked by attacks of blood mucold diarrhea that may persist  for days, weeks or months and then subside only to return in months, years or  even decades. Additional features include: Acute attacks so severe; with  bleeding, fluid and electrolyte imbalance as to constitute a medical emergency.  Onset is frequently associated with a period of psychological stress. HEPATITIS: Inflammation of the liver. Any  blood-borne infection may involve the liver, whether systemic in origin or  arising in the abdominal cavity, including bacterial, fungal and parasitic  infections. Systemic viral infections that may involve the liver include:  infectious mononucleosis (Epstein-Barr Virus) cytomealovirus, herpes virus,  yellow fever, etc. In children the liver is infrequently involved in rubella,  adenovirus and enterovirus infections. However, unless otherwise specified, most  cases of hepatitis refers to an infection of the liver by a small group of  hepatotrophic viruses including: Hepatitis A: A self limited viral disease of  worldwide distribution, usually transmitted by oral ingestion of infected  material, but may also be transmitted parenterally (injection). Clinical  features include: fever, malaise, nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms,  followed by jaundice, pruritus, dark urine, pale stools, hepatomegaly etc. Hepatitis B: An acute viral illness transmitted  parentally or by oral ingestion of infected material. Prodromal symptoms  include: urticarial skin lesions and arthritis. Clinical symptoms are similar to  hepatitis A, however, the acute illness tends to be more prolonged and variable  than in viral hepatitis A. Non-A, Non-B Hepatitis Viruses:Because there are cases  of hepatitis for which serologic test have ruled out all known viral causes, it  is thought that additional agents are involved. NANB hepatitis is transmitted  primarily via the blood and resembles hepatitis B in its clinical course and  severity. A chronic carrier state can occur. Most cases of post-transfusion  hepatitis in the U.S. are now due to NANB viruses. One major cause of NANB  hepatitis is hepatitis C, a virus resembling yellow fever virus, a flavivirus.  Delta Agent (Hepatitis Delta Virus) - is a defective virus, because its genome  does not code for its own protective envelope protein. This suggests that the  delta hepatitis can occur only in individuals previously infected by HBV since  the virus can replicate only in HBV-infected cells. Delta hepatitis is  transmitted viathe blood and resembles hepatitis B in severity. chronic carrier  state can occur. HYPERTENSION: Is a persistently high arterial blood  pressure. When defined as diastolic greater than 90 mmHg and systolic greater  than 140 mmHg. The prevalence of hypertension in the US is approximately 25  percent of the population. Approximately 90 percent of hypertension may have no  known cause (essential, idiopathic or primary). The remaining is secondary and  is mostly related to artery stenosis, endocrine abnormalities, vascular  malformations, neurogenic disorders, etc. HYPOTENSION: Is a persistently low arterial blood  pressure. When defined as systolic less than 90 and diastolic less than 50.  Excessive hypotension may result in shock. LEUKEMIA: Is a malignant neoplasm of the  hematopoietic stem cells, arising in the bone marrow, that flood the  Circulation, blood or other organs. Leukemias are classified on the basis of the  cell type involved (myeloid verses lymphoid) and the state of the leukemia  cells. Acute leukemias are characteristic by the presence of very immature cells  (called blasts) and by a rapidly fatal course in untreated patients; chronic  leukemia is associated, at least initially, with well-differentiated (mature)  leukocytes and a relative indolent course. Clinical features of acute leukemias  include: fatigue due mainly to anemia, fever, petechiae (red spots), ecchymosis  (bruising), epistaxis (nose-bleeds), gingival bleeding, generalized  lymphadenopathy, splenomegaly, hepatomegaly, bone pain, headaches, papilledema  (edema of the optic disk), etc. Clinical features of chronic leukemias include:  easy fatigue, weakness, weight loss, extreme splenomegaly, fullness in the  abdomen. MALABSORPTION: Malabsorption: Abnormal fecal  excretion of fat (steatorrhea) owing to malabsorption of fats, fat soluble  vitamins, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and water. Malabsorption is the  result of a disturbance in at least one of the following functions: 1. Digestion  of nutrients of smaller molecules that can be absorbed or transported across the  intestinal mucosal cell. 2. Reduction in the absorptive capacity of the bowel,  particularly reduction in the surface area of the small bowel. 3. Abnormal  transport of absorbed products. Clinical features include weight loss, anorexia,  abdominal distension, borborygmi (rumbling noise caused by propulsion of gas  through the intestine), muscle wasting, passage of abnormally bulky, frothy,  greasy yellow or gray stools. Some common malabsorption syndromes include: Celia  sprue is a malabsorption syndrome precipitated by ingestion of gluten-containing  foods (wheat, grains). The clinical symptoms include diarrhea, frothy, fatty,  fetid stools, abdominal distension, weight loss, asthenia, deficiency of  vitamins B, D, K and electrolyte depletion. Tropical sprue is a malabsorption  syndrome occurring almost exclusively in people living or visiting tropical or  semi-tropical locales. Clinical symptoms include stomatitis (inflammation of the  oral mucosa), diarrhea and anemia. Whipple's Disease is a malabsorption syndrome  with small intestine disease, with malabsorption having systemic ramifications  including involvement of skin, central nervous system, joints, heart, blood  vessels, kidney, lung, serosal membrane, lymph node, liver and spleen. Clinical  features include diarrhea, stentorrhea, abdominal cramps, distension, fever,  weight loss, arthritis and central nervous system disease. MULTIPLE MYELOMA: Abnormal aggregates of plasma cells  replacing 15 to 90 percent of the bone marrow. The neoplastic cells cause  multifocal destructive bone lesions. Typically, individual lesions appear as  sharply punched-out defects, having a rounded soap bubble like appearance on  Xray film, but generalized osteoporosis may also be seen. Although any bone may  be involved the vertebral column, ribs and skull are most frequently affected.  Clinical features include: Bone infiltrates are manifested by pain and  pathologic fractures, hyper- calcemia resulting from bone resorption may give  rise neurologic manifestations, such as, confusion, weakness, lethargy,  constipation polyuria, recurrent infections, renal insufficiency, etc. MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION:(Heart attack) occurs when there is a  constriction or obstruction of one of the vessels that supplies a region of the  heart.  If blood flow is restricted significantly there is damage to that area â€"  called ischemia. OBESITY: The state of being overweight. A  person is considered to be obese if they are more than 20 percent over their  ideal weight. That ideal weight must take into account the person’s height, age,  sex, and build. Obesity is often multifactorial, based on both genetic and  behavioral factors. OSTEOARTHRITIS: noninflammatory degenerative joint  disease occurring chiefly in older persons, characterized by degeneration of the  articular cartilage, hypertrophy of bone at the margins and changes in the  synovial membrane. It is accompanied by pain and stiffness, particularly after  prolonged activity. PANCREATITIS: An acute condition usually  presenting with severe abdominal pain associated with increased pancreatic  enzymes in the blood or urine caused by inflammation and necrosis of the  pancreas. The condition is often caused by biliary tract disease especially  cholelithiasis. Gallstones are present in some 35-60% of patients with  pancreatitis. Other causes include alcoholism, trauma, extension of inflammation  from adjacent tissue, sepsi, virus (hepatitis, mumps), vasculitis,  hypercalcemia. Starts by unknown causes (ideopathic pancreatitis etc. Clinical  features include pain that is constant and intense with upper back radiation,  peripheral vascular collapse and shock. Death may occur from shock, respiratory  distress syndrome (ARDS), and acute renal failure. PROSTATE CANCER: Cancer of the gland surrounding the  neck of the bladder and urethra in the male; the gland contributes a secretion  to the semen. Prostate cancer is the most common form of cancer in males;  currently the third leading cause of cancer deaths. Clinical features include:  an increase in the frequency of urination, a decrease in the pressure upon  urination, urinary tract infections, subsequent obstruction, note: urinary  obstruction does not usually occur in the early stages of the disease, secondary  to the origin of most carcinomas; the periphery of the prostate. PYRONIE'S DISEASE: Is an abnormal curvature of the  penis. This condition Is secondary to the contraction/scar tissue in the corpus  cavernosum of the penis, upon erection the penis is pulled to one side resulting  in a deviation. RETINITIS PIGMENTOSIS:A disease marked by the progressive  loss of the neural elements used for the transmission and reception of visual  stimuli in the eye. RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: Chronic inflammatory disease in  which there is destruction of joints. Considered by some to be an autoimmune  disorder in which immune complexes are formed in joints and excite an  inflammatory response (complex mediated hypersensitivity). SCHIZOPHRENIA: A mental disorder or heterogenous  group of disorders (the schizophrenias or schizophrenic disorders) comprising  most major psychotic disorders. Characterised by disturbances in form and  content of thought (loosening of associations, delusions and hallucination),  mood disturbances (blunted, flattened or inappropriate affect), sense of self  and relationship to the external world (loss of ego boundaries, and autistic  withdrawal) and differences in behavior (bizarre, stereotyped activity or  inactivity). SICKLE CELL ANEMIA:A disease common in races of  individuals from areas in which malaria is endemic. This hereditary hema-  globinopathy results from a point mutation of the globulin gene, is associated  with the substitution of valine for glutamic acid. Upon deoxygenation Hbs  molecules undergo aggregation and polymerization, leading to a sickling of the  red cells. Clinical features include: propensity to develop gallstones, painful  episodes of ischemic necrosis effecting the bone, lungs, liver, brain, penis  spleen, increased susceptibility to infections, etc. STOMACH ULCER: an ulcer in the mucosal lining of  the stomach. Ulcer formation results from gastric inflammation that may be  triggered by the use of alcohol, aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory  agents. Symptoms include recurrent abdominal pains (may be relieved by  antacids), nausea, vomiting, weight loss and fatigue. Complications include GI  bleeding, obstruction, perforation and ulcer penetration into surrounding  tissues. STROKE: a condition due to the lack of  oxygen to the brain, which may lead to reversible or irreversible paralysis. The  damage to a group of nerve cells in the brain is often due to interrupted blood  flow, caused by a blood clot or blood vessel bursting. Depending on the area of  the brain that is damaged, a stroke can cause coma, paralysis, speech problems  and dementia. URTICARIA: a transient condition of the skin,  usually caused by an allergic reaction, characterized by pale or reddened  irregular, elevated patches and severe itching, hives. VALVULAR HEART DISEASE:Disease of the valves of the  heart.