TEST YOUR VOCABULARY FOR MEDICINE Diagnosis

TEST YOUR VOCABULARY FOR MEDICINE

Diagnosis

READ THE ELEVEN descriptions which follow, using your dictionary as and when necessary! What is the disease or illness being described in each case?

1	A disorder of the nervous system in which there are convulsions and loss of consciousness due to disordered discharge of cerebral neurons. In its more severe form, the patient may lose consciousness and fall to the ground in convulsions.
2	A condition where tissues die and decay as a result of bacterial action because the blood supply has been lost through injury or disease of the artery. Infected limbs may have to be amputated.
3	A condition where the lens of the eye gradually becomes hard and opaque.
4	A slow progressive disorder of elderly people, it affects the parts of the brain which control movement. The symptoms include trembling of the limbs, a shuffling walk and difficulty with speaking.
5	An infectious disease, its commonest form attacks the lungs, causing patients to lose weight, cough blood and have a fever. It is caught by breathing in germs or eating contaminated food, especially unpasteurised milk.
6	A hereditary disease of the pancreas or mucoviscidosis, leading to malfunction of the exocrine glands. Symptoms include lose weight, abnormal faeces and bronchitis. If diagnosed early, it can be controlled with vitamins, physiotherapy and pancreatic enzymes.
7	A serious bacterial disease spread through infected food or water. The infected person suffers stomach cramps, diarrhoea, cramp in the intestines and dehydration. The disease is often fatal and vaccination is only effective for a relatively short period.
8	A serious, infectious disease of children, its first symptoms are a sore throat, followed by slight fever, rapid pulse and swelling of the glands in the neck. A membrane-like structure forms in the throat and can close the air passages, asphyxiating the patient. The disease is often fatal for this reason or because heart becomes fatally weakened.
9	A disorder of the brain, mainly due to brain damage occurring before birth or due to lack of oxygen during birth. The patient may have bad coordination of muscular movements, impaired speech, hearing and sight, and sometimes mental retardation.
10	A virus disease, it can take a long time, even years, for it to show symptoms. It causes a breakdown of the body’s immune system, making the patient susceptible to any infection.
11	Inflammation of the membrane lining the intestines and stomach, caused by a viral infection, and resulting in diarrhoea and vomiting.

ANSWER KEY

1	epilepsy
2	gangrene
3	cataracts
4	Parkinson’s disease
5	tuberculosis
6	cystic fibrosis
7	cholera
8	diphtheria
9	cerebral palsy
10	AIDS
11	gastroenteritis