BIO 550 What were early conceptions of the cause of disease?

DQ1 What were early conceptions of the cause of disease?

DQ2 Develop or illustrate a timeline of epidemiologic milestones in public health. What is one of the most significant milestones to you? Why?

The connotations of the term “a disease” were investigated by studying the ways in which both medical and non-medical people used the word. A list of common diagnostic terms was read slowly to groups of non-medical academic staff of a university, secondary-school students, medical academics, and family practitioners, who then indicated whether they thought each word referred to disease.

All groups rated illnesses due to infections as diseases, but the doctors, and particularly the general practitioners, were more generous in accepting as diseases the terms for non-infectious conditions. Apart from the nature of the cause, the most influential factor in determining whether or not an illness was considered to be a disease was the importance of the doctor in diagnosis and treatment.

These findings provide further evidence that there is ambiguity about the meaning of the term disease. To the layman a disease seems to be a living agency that causes illness. Doctors have obviously accepted more heterogeneous defining characteristics but remain reluctant to adopt unequivocally nominalist ways of thought. The position is not unlike that in the physical sciences, in which there is a good precedent for distinguishing between the formal scientific and the everyday uses of terms such as “force” and “power”

Although many diseases are infectious, research in the twentieth century has revealed other kinds of cause of disease: genetic, nutritional, immunological, metabolic, and cytological. The Hippocratics saw some traits such as being phlegmatic as hereditary, but the first demonstration of the genetic basis of a disease was Archibald Garrod’s work on alkaptonuria in 1901 (Devor, 1993). Many other kinds of genetic disorders have been identified, and in recent years genetic engineering has offered the possibility of new kinds of treatment for such disorders. Hippocrates placed great emphasis on diet as a factor on disease, and the value of citrus fruits in preventing scurvy was established in 1747, but identification of vitamin C as a nutritional requisite of health occurred only in 1932. Diseases caused by nutritional deficiencies can easily be treated by providing the missing vitamins or other nutrient.

Knowledge of the immune system advanced rapidly in the 1950s, making possible the understanding of diseases that arise from attacks by the immune system on the body’s own organs, as occurs in diseases such as lupus erythematosus. Metabolic disorders such as diabetes have become increasingly understood as knowledge increases of the physiology of organs such as the pancreas, but causality in such cases is complex, involving an interaction of hereditary and environmental factors. Similarly, although knowledge is developing rapidly concerning the nature of the cells and genes involved in the growth of cancers, the causal interactions are BIO 550 What were early conceptions of the cause of disease enormously complex and hard to identify.

The authoritative Cecil Textbook of Medicine is divided into parts that implicitly classify diseases in two complementary respects: organ systems and pathogenesis. Table 5 lists the relevant parts of the textbook. Most of these are organized around physiological systems, such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. But there are also parts that group diseases in terms of pathogenetic mechanisms that can affect various organ systems: oncology, metabolic diseases, nutritional diseases, infectious diseases, and so on. Some diseases are naturally discussed in more than one part, as when myocarditis occurs both under cardiovascular diseases and infectious diseases. Modern medical classification thus blends two overlapping taxonomies of disease.

Click here to ORDER an A++ paper from our Verified MASTERS and DOCTORATE WRITERS: BIO 550 What were early conceptions of the cause of disease?

Grid View

	Excellent	Good	Fair	Poor
Main Posting	45 (45%) – 50 (50%) Answers all parts of the discussion question(s) expectations with reflective critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module and current credible sources. Supported by at least three current, credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	40 (40%) – 44 (44%) Responds to the discussion question(s) and is reflective with critical analysis and synthesis of knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. At least 75% of post has exceptional depth and breadth. Supported by at least three credible sources. Written clearly and concisely with one or no grammatical or spelling errors and fully adheres to current APA manual writing rules and style.	35 (35%) – 39 (39%) Responds to some of the discussion question(s). One or two criteria are not addressed or are superficially addressed. Is somewhat lacking reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Somewhat represents knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Post is cited with two credible sources. Written somewhat concisely; may contain more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Contains some APA formatting errors.	0 (0%) – 34 (34%) Does not respond to the discussion question(s) adequately. Lacks depth or superficially addresses criteria. Lacks reflection and critical analysis and synthesis. Does not represent knowledge gained from the course readings for the module. Contains only one or no credible sources. Not written clearly or concisely. Contains more than two spelling or grammatical errors. Does not adhere to current APA manual writing rules and style.
Main Post: Timeliness	10 (10%) – 10 (10%) Posts main post by day 3.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not post by day 3.
First Response	17 (17%) – 18 (18%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	15 (15%) – 16 (16%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	13 (13%) – 14 (14%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 12 (12%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Second Response	16 (16%) – 17 (17%) Response exhibits synthesis, critical thinking, and application to practice settings. Responds fully to questions posed by faculty. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by at least two scholarly sources. Demonstrates synthesis and understanding of learning objectives. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are fully answered, if posed. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	14 (14%) – 15 (15%) Response exhibits critical thinking and application to practice settings. Communication is professional and respectful to colleagues. Responses to faculty questions are answered, if posed. Provides clear, concise opinions and ideas that are supported by two or more credible sources. Response is effectively written in standard, edited English.	12 (12%) – 13 (13%) Response is on topic and may have some depth. Responses posted in the discussion may lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are somewhat answered, if posed. Response may lack clear, concise opinions and ideas, and a few or no credible sources are cited.	0 (0%) – 11 (11%) Response may not be on topic and lacks depth. Responses posted in the discussion lack effective professional communication. Responses to faculty questions are missing. No credible sources are cited.
Participation	5 (5%) – 5 (5%) Meets requirements for participation by posting on three different days.	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%)	0 (0%) – 0 (0%) Does not meet requirements for participation by posting on 3 different days.
Total Points: 100