Pathophysiology Term Paper

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Pathophysiology- Adaptive Response

The body has a natural adaptive response that allows it to cope with both internal and external environments. Adaptive responses in the medical and healthcare field are commonly referred to as signs and symptoms and they play a crucial role in that they help health practitioners to discern the underlying conditions, thus diagnose the disorder to be treated/managed (Huether, McCance & Parkinson, 2013). This paper is a discussion of pathophysiology based on three given case ill-health manifestations. The provided signs and symptoms will be used to determine the possible health disorder then discourse the pathogenesis in explaining the visible manifestations. The paper also presents a tonsillitis mind map that includes epidemiology, pathophysiology, associated risk factors, clinical presentation, diagnosis, and adaptive responses. It has been determined that the health condition for case one is tonsillitis, for case two it is contact dermatitis, and case three it is stress response.

Scenario 1: Tonsillitis

It is determined that Jennifer is suffering from Tonsillitis mainly because of the erythematous throat, the 4+ swollen tonsils and diffuse exudates, palpable and tender to touch anterior cervical nodes. Tonsillitis is when the pharyngeal tonsils swell and the swelling can extend to lingual and the adenoid tonsils. The disorder can be caused by either bacteria or virus infections and in conjunction with other immunologically related factors leads to the tonsillitis disorder (Ueno, Banchereau & Vinuesa, 2015). Viruses causing tonsillitis include Herpes simplex, Epstein-Barr virus, and Cytomegalovirus as well as Adenovirus and the measles virus.
Bacteria causing tonsillitis is mainly group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus pyrogens which adhere to tonsils epithelium adhesions receptors (Ueno et al., 2015). The invasion of the respective microbes causes an inflammation response by the mucosa lining. The body’s adaptive response to this alteration is fever, exudation, erythema, and swelling of the lymph nodes. Other adaptive responses include an increased heart beat as the body seeks to compensate for the increased body temperature which is a result of the fever. The options available for treating tonsils include administration of antibiotics for bacterial tonsillitis, NSAIDs for fever and pain, adequate intake of fluid for hydration purposes, and adequate rest. In case of severe or chronic tonsillitis, surgery is the recommended option. In severe conditions, tonsillitis can result to blockage of the wind and food pipes, and sleep apnea.

Scenario 2: Contact dermatitis

In this case, a diagnosis of contact dermatitis is made primarily because of the flaky hands that exhibit no pain or discomfort, the sometimes “a little hot” feeling, and the fact that he works with harsh solvents and chemicals without protective gloves.

The skin forms the primary line of defense against disease and desiccation by keeping pathogens out, moisture in, and a clear separation of internal and external environments of the body. Contact dermatitis is a skin health condition that is a result of the skin swelling after contact with chemical irritant. It is non-immunologically mediated and after the skin comes….....

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