Nurse Key

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS The human body is approximately 60% water, which is contained within two major compartments, the extracellular fluid and the intracellular fluid (Guyton & Hall, 2000). The fluid inside…

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS Superior vena cava syndrome (SVCS) is a partial or complete obstruction of the blood flow returning to the heart from the head, neck, upper thorax, and upper extremities….

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS Suicide is the act of killing oneself on purpose. The term suicide stems from the Latin words sui, meaning “self,” and caedere, meaning “to kill.” Suicidal ideation is…

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS Spinal cord compression (SCC) is an oncologic emergency that requires prompt diagnosis and treatment. Delays in diagnosis result in loss of mobility, loss of bladder function, and decreased…

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS Healthy individuals with an intact immune system are able to mount a normal immune response to a microbe exposure, preventing colonization of the host. Patients with cancer are…

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS Sinusoid occlusive syndrome (SOS) is increasingly replacing the term venulo-occlusive disease (VOD), because current research suggests that the initial target of this syndrome is primarily the liver sinusoids…

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS Malignant pleural effusions are collections of excess body fluid in the pleural space. The pleural space is located between the visceral and parietal pleura. Normally, fluid is shifted…

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS Normal bone activity includes osteoclasts that wear away bone and osteoblasts that build up new bone. A pathologic fracture in a person with cancer is a fracture that…

PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS From a mechanistic perspective, cancer pain can be classified as nociceptive or neuropathic in origin. Nociceptive pain results from activity in neural pathways caused by tissue damage. Examples…