Pathophysiology - Very Basic Help Needed!!!

[alock87]

I realize I may be coming across as totally ignorant here, but we're one week into our second year of school and my clinical instructor for med/surg (an adjunct faculty member, so she doesn't lecture) told me to write a pathophysiology on my patient's lumbar fracture for next week. You guys, I've never heard that word before. I think she assumes that we're familiar with it, since she doesn't teach, but we're not. I feel like it's probably rather basic, but I'm not even sure where to start! Can anyone explain the purpose and general parameters of the average pathophysiology (I don't think it has to be over a page)? Thanks!

[ckh23, BSN, RN]

What is the fracture from? Trauma? Does this person have DDD (degenerative disc disease), osteoperosis, old age, etc? Once you figure out what caused the fracture, writing the pathophys on it will be pretty easy.

What word have you not heard before?

[alock87]

Like, we have never been informed on how to write a pathophysiology. Is there a format to follow?

[ckh23, BSN, RN]

It sounds like she wants you to write about the pathophysiology behind the lumbar fracture. There is no specific format, just writing about the pathophys. For example, if the fracture was caused by osteoporosis, you would write about the process of osteoporosis inside the body that would lead to a fracture.

For example, this is an excerpt from wiki about the pathophysiology for bacterial pneumonia.

Bacterial

Bacteria typically enter the lung when airborne droplets are inhaled, but can also reach the lung through the bloodstream when there is an infection in another part of the body. Many bacteria live in parts of the upper respiratory tract, such as the nose, mouth and sinuses, and can easily be inhaled into the alveoli. Once inside, bacteria may invade the spaces between cells and between alveoli through connecting pores. This invasion triggers the immune system to send neutrophils, a type of defensive white blood cell, to the lungs. The neutrophils engulf and kill the offending organisms, and also release cytokines, causing a general activation of the immune system. This leads to the fever, chills, and fatigue common in bacterial and fungal pneumonia. The neutrophils, bacteria, and fluid from surrounding blood vessels fill the alveoli and interrupt normal oxygen transportation.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pneumonia#Pathophysiology

[Music in My Heart]

Pathophysiology = Pathology (study of disease) + physiology

That is, in what fashion has the body's normal homeostatic physiology been disrupted.

For example, what kinds of underlying conditions or processes led to her fracture and what are the physiologic responses?