- •English for medical students
- •Preface
- •Medicine as a science. Branches of medicine
- •Branches of medicine
- •Basic sciences
- •Diagnostic specialties
- •Clinical disciplines
- •Human organism human anatomy
- •The cell
- •Properties of cells:
- •Cell membrane: a cell's protective coat
- •Cytoskeleton: a cell's scaffold
- •Genetic material
- •Organelles
- •Cell nucleus (a cell's information center)
- •Ribosomes (the protein production machine)
- •Mitochondria and Chloroplasts (the power generators)
- •Endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus (macromolecule managers)
- •Lysosomes and Peroxisomes (the cellular digestive system)
- •Centrioles
- •Vacuoles
- •The tissue
- •Human organ systems
- •The anatomical position
- •Relative directions
- •Median and sagittal plane
- •Coronal plane
- •Transverse plane
- •Special cases
- •Body cavities
- •Digestive system
- •Introduction
- •Ingestion
- •Digestion: stomach
- •Digestion and absorption: small intestine
- •Absorption: large intestine
- •Answer the questions
- •Ulcerative colitis
- •Urinary system
- •Introduction
- •Kidneys: location and structure
- •Kidneys: function
- •Urine production
- •Answer the questions
- •Cystitis
- •Reproductive system
- •Introduction
- •Male reproductive organs
- •Female reproductive organs
- •Development of sex cells
- •Answer the questions
- •Vaginismus
- •Prostatitis
- •Nervous system
- •Introduction
- •Cns: neurons, brain, spinal cord
- •Pns: somatic (voluntary) nervous system, autonomic (involuntary) nervous system
- •Sense organs
- •Answer the questions
- •Ischemic stroke
- •Immediate treatment
- •Cardiovascular system
- •Introduction
- •Components of blood
- •How blood clots
- •How red blood cells carry oxygen
- •Blood pressure
- •The heart (the pump)
- •Answer the questions
- •Mitral stenosis
- •Respiratory system
- •Introduction
- •Lungs and air passages
- •Gas exchange
- •Respiration
- •Answer the questions
- •Lymphatic system
- •Introduction
- •Capillary hydrostatic pressure: fluid diffusion and reabsorption
- •Lymph vessels
- •Lymph organs: nodes, nodules, spleen, thymus gland, tonsils
- •Answer the questions
- •Lymphadenitis and lymphangitis
- •Skeletal system
- •Introduction
- •Axial skeleton
- •Appendicular skeleton
- •Ossification and reconstruction
- •Bone marrow
- •Answer the questions
- •Osteoarthritis
- •Muscular system
- •Introduction
- •Cardiac muscle
- •Smooth muscle
- •Skeletal muscle
- •Muscle fibers and exercise
- •Answer the questions
- •Myasthenia gravis
- •Skin (integumentary system)
- •Introduction
- •Skin: epidermal layers
- •Skin: dermal layers
- •Sudoriferous (sweat) and sebaceous (oil) glands
- •Hair and nails
- •Skin color
- •Answer the questions
- •Endocrine system
- •Introduction
- •Glands and neural components
- •Homeostatic feedback mechanisms
- •Pituitary gland
- •Thyroid gland
- •Adrenal glands
- •Ovaries and testes
- •Answer the questions
- •Type 1 diabetes
- •Insulin
- •Vascular disease
- •I. What is cancer?
- •II. Terminology of cancer
- •III. History of oncology
- •IV. Oncological diseases
- •1. Laryngeal cancer
- •Symptoms:
- •Diagnosis:
- •Treatment:
- •2. Lung cancer
- •Causes:
- •Symptoms:
- •Diagnosis:
- •Treatment:
- •3. Colon cancer
- •Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
- •Symptoms:
- •Signs and tests:
- •Treatment:
- •4. Brain tumor
- •Causes, incidence, and risk factors:
- •Symptoms:
- •Signs and tests:
- •Treatment :
- •Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen
- •I. Diagnostic radiology
- •II. Therapeutic radiology
- •III. Interventional radiology
- •Answer the questions
- •Pharmacology
- •For the gastrointestinal tract or digestive system
- •For the cardiovascular system
- •For the central nervous system
- •For musculo-skeletal disorders
- •Why we need vitamins
- •Vitamin deficiencies
- •Analgesics
- •Paracetamol and nsaiDs
- •Opiates and morphinomimetics
- •Combinations
- •Topical or systemic
- •Psychotropic agents
- •Addiction
- •Antibiotics
- •Side effects
- •Antibiotic resistance
- •Vaccines
- •Origin of vaccines
- •Developing immunity
- •Potential for adverse side effects in general
- •Answer the questions
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
- •III. Do additional exercises
- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 1
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
- •III. Do additional exercises
- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 2
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
- •III. Do additional exercises
- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 3
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
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- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 4
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
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- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 5
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
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- •V. Write test 6
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
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- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 8
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 9
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 10
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 11
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 12
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 13
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 14
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 15
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 16
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 17
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
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- •V. Write test 18
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
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- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 19
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
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- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 20
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
- •III. Do additional exercises
- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 21
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
- •III. Do additional exercises
- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 22
- •I. Learn new combining forms and their meanings
- •II. Do basic exercises
- •III. Do additional exercises
- •IV. Get ready for the test
- •V. Write test 23
II. Terminology of cancer
The following closely related terms may be used to designate abnormal growths:
1. Neoplasia and neoplasm are the scientific designations for cancerous diseases. This group contains a large number of different diseases. Neoplasms can be benign or malignant.
2. Cancer is a widely used word that is usually understood as synonymous with malignant neoplasm. It is occasionally used instead of carcinoma, a sub-group of malignant neoplasms. Because of its overwhelming popularity relative to 'neoplasia', it is used frequently instead of 'neoplasia', even by scientists and physicians, especially when discussing neoplastic diseases as a group.
3. Tumor in medical language simply means swelling or lump, either neoplastic, inflammatory or other. In common language, however, it is synonymous with 'neoplasm', either benign or malignant. This is inaccurate since some neoplasms usually do not form tumors, for example leukemia or carcinoma in situ.
Cancers are classified by the type of cell that resembles the tumor and, therefore, the tissue presumed to be the origin of the tumor. The following general categories are usually accepted:
Carcinoma: malignant tumors derived from epithelial cells. This group represent the most common cancers, including the common forms of breast, prostate, lung and colon cancer.
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Lymphoma and Leukemia: malignant tumors derived from blood and bone marrow cells
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Sarcoma: malignant tumors derived from connective tissue, or mesenchymal cells
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Mesothelioma: tumors derived from the mesothelial cells lining the peritoneum and the pleura.
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Glioma: tumors derived from glia, the most common type of brain cell
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Germinoma: tumors derived from germ cells, normally found in the testicle and ovary
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Choriocarcinoma: malignant tumors derived from the placenta
Malignant tumors are usually named using the Latin or Greek root of the organ as a prefix and the above category name as the suffix. For instance, a malignant tumor of liver cells is called hepatocarcinoma; a malignant tumor of the fat cells is called liposarcoma. For common cancers, the English organ name is used. For instance, the most common type of breast cancer is called ductal carcinoma of the breast or mammary ductal carcinoma. Here, the adjective ductal refers to the appearance of the cancer under the microscope, resembling normal breast ducts.
Benign tumors are named using -oma as a suffix. For instance, a benign tumor of the smooth muscle of the uterus is called leiomyoma (the common name of this frequent tumor is fibroid). This nomenclature is however somewhat inconsistent, since several "malignant" tumor growths also have this suffix in their names, e.g. neuroblastoma, lymphoma and melanoma.
III. History of oncology
Today, the Greek term carcinoma is the medical term for a malignant tumor derived from epithelial cells. It is Celsus who translated carcinos into the Latin cancer, also meaning crab. Galen used "oncos" to describe all tumours, the root for the modern word oncology.
Hippocrates described several kinds of cancers. He called benign tumours oncos, Greek for swelling, and malignant tumours carcinos, Greek for crab or crayfish. This name probably comes from the appearance of the cut surface of a solid malignant tumour, with a roundish hard center surrounded by pointy projections, vaguely resembling the shape of a crab. He later added the suffix -oma, Greek for swelling, giving the name carcinoma. Since it was against Greek tradition to open the body, Hippocrates only described and made drawings of outwardly visible tumors on the skin, nose, and breasts. Treatment was based on the humor theory of four bodily fluids (black and yellow bile, blood, and phlegm). According to the patient's humor, treatment consisted of diet, blood-letting, and/or laxatives. Through the centuries it was discovered that cancer could occur anywhere in the body, but humor-theory based treatment remained popular until the 19th century with the discovery of cells.
Though treatment remained the same, in the 16th and 17th centuries it became more acceptable for doctors to dissect bodies to discover the cause of death. The German professor Wilhelm Fabry believed that breast cancer was caused by a milk clot in a mammary duct. The Dutch professor Francois de la Boe Sylvius, a follower of Descartes, believed that all disease was the outcome of chemical processes, and that acidic lymph fluid was the cause of cancer. His contemporary Nicolaes Tulp believed that cancer was a poison that slowly spreads, and concluded that it was contagious.
With the widespread use of the microscope in the 18th century, it was discovered that the 'cancer poison' spread from the primary tumor through the lymph nodes to other sites ("metastasis"). The use of surgery to treat cancer had poor results due to problems with hygiene. The renowned Scottish surgeon Alexander Monro (1697-1767) saw only 2 breast tumor patients out of 60 surviving surgery for two years. In the 19th century, asepsis improved surgical hygiene and as the survival statistics went up, surgical removal of the tumor became the primary treatment for cancer. With the exception of William Coley who in the late 1800s felt that the rate of cure after surgery had been higher before asepsis (and who injected bacteria into tumors with mixed results), cancer treatment became dependent on the individual art of the surgeon at removing a tumor. During the same period, the idea that the body was made up of various tissues, that in turn were made up of millions of cells, laid rest the humor-theories about chemical imbalances in the body. The age of cellular pathology was born.
When Marie Curie and Pierre Curie discovered radiation at the end of the 19th century, they stumbled upon the first effective non-surgical cancer treatment. With radiation came also the first signs of multi-disciplinary approaches to cancer treatment. The surgeon was no longer operating in isolation, but worked together with hospital radiologists to help patients. The complications in communication this brought, along with the necessity of the patient's treatment in a hospital facility rather than at home, also created a parallel process of compiling patient data into hospital files, which in turn led to the first statistical patient studies.
Cancer patient treatment and studies were restricted to individual physicians' practices until World War II, when medical research centers discovered that there were large international differences in disease incidence. This insight drove national public health bodies to make it possible to compile health data across practises and hospitals, a process that many countries do today. The Japanese medical community observed that the bone marrow of bomb victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was completely destroyed. They concluded that diseased bone marrow could also be destroyed with radiation, and this led to the discovery of bone marrow transplants for leukemia. Since WWII, trends in cancer treatment are to improve on a micro-level the existing treatment methods, standardize them, and globalize them as a way to find cures through epidemiology and international partnerships.