The study of disease and disease processes is called pathophysiology. To bring this down on a more basic level for everyone to understand, we would be looking at the definition of pathophysiology in nursing, including what the word physiology means.
Anatomy And Physiology
Anatomy and Physiology are the backbone of medicine, nursing or the field of study in medical sciences. For anyone to go through nursing school or medical school successfully to become professional nurses and doctors, they first of all need to have accurate knowledge of the various structures of the human body, the link between the various parts, how the various parts including how organs and the body as whole function or work.
While anatomy is concerned with the study of the internal and external makeup of structures and the relationship between them, physiology, on the other hand, involves the study of the proper functioning of these external and internal structures. Now, if anatomy involves the study of parts of the human body and physiology is concerned with how the various parts of the human body function, then what is pathophysiology in nursing?
What is pathophysiology in nursing?
The word pathophysiology consists of three Greek words; pathos, physis and logos. The word “pathos” means suffering, and while ‘physis” means nature, “logos” means the study of a thing. Putting all together, we can conclude that the definition of pathophysiology in nursing is, the study of abnormal function of the internal and external structure of the human body due to disease processes.
Therefore, in nursing, the study of disease and disease processes is called pathophysiology. This means that there is a difference between physiology and pathophysiology, however, physiology and pathophysiology are the backbone of medical nursing. That’s why the study of pathophysiology in nursing is as important as the study of anatomy and physiology in nursing. But why is Pathophysiology Important In Nursing? Let’s find out.
Why Is Pathophysiology Important In Nursing?
Just as we have seen above that anatomy and physiology are the foundation on which nursing is built, so also is pathophysiology. It’s one of the bases of the practice of nursing. This is because pathophysiology help nursing students to learn about how to identify any abnormalities and malfunctioning of the external and internal structures of the human body.
Before you continue reading, click here for our list of The Best Anatomy And Physiology Textbooks For Nursing Students.
Knowledge of Pathophysiology will nurses, doctors and other health care professionals find answers to why “this” and “that” is happening to their patients. Pathophysiology help health care professionals detect what is wrong in the body of someone and how to help the person.
Aren’t it doctors’ responsibility to diagnose patients condition? Yes, but as nurses, it is our job to reassure patients and help them stay calm so they can heal. The knowledge of pathophysiology will help you to explain to them why they have to do some laboratory tests, this will help them to calm down and have peace of mind.
Your knowledge in anatomy and physiology including pathophysiology will prepare you as a nurse to enable you to respond very fast to any alteration or changes in the health status of your patients with more accuracy. You will be able to know why the sudden in the status of your patients and what to do to help them.
As a nurse, the knowledge of pathophysiology will enable you to quickly and easily identify the pathophysiological changes or signs and symptoms of any disease conditions your parent battling with. With this, you will be able to help your patient by providing him or her quality health care.
Pathogenesis and pathophysiology. What Is The Difference?
When it comes to the difference between pathogenesis and pathophysiology, it’s important to understand that there is no much difference between pathogenesis and pathophysiology. The only difference is that pathophysiology is a field of study that focuses on the occurrence of the disease condition or diseases, more importantly, the causes and how it progresses.
Pathogenesis, on the other hand, focuses on the developmental process of disease conditions. In other words, pathogenesis focus on the process or the mechanism that usually leads to the development of disease conditions. This involves two main aspects called Ethology and progression. Ethology defines what causes disease or where the disease is coming from.
As a student, It’s also important you understand that pathophysiology and pathogenesis are two fields of medical study that describe or focus on the characteristics that come with diseases.
Also, when it comes to describing a disease, bear in mind that the aetiology or the origin of the disease must always be the first.
To add to the point above, note that pathophysiology and pathogenesis are very vital field of study as far as the prevention of disease, including management and treatment of diseases, are concerned.
Pathophysiology in nursing school
As stated above, pathophysiology is one of the basic of nursing and medicine – which is why pathophysiology in nursing schools are talking very serious to ensure that nursing students are rich in the knowledge of the subject before stepping out to practice.
However, pathophysiology is not easy to pass. That’s been said, you might be wondering how hard is pathophysiology to pass? If you are a student nursing, then you already know that the journey is a tough one but with commitment and hard work you will easily pass pathophysiology.
Nowadays, there are many pathophysiology resources or study materials or pathophysiology books for nurses. There are also pathophysiology online courses your can sign up for especially if you think you need more help to hand upper hand over pathophysiology as a nursing student. There is also numerous pathophysiology study guide for nursing students in many nursing colleges you also fall on.
Final Conclusion
From the beginning of this short article, we have been looking at one thing, the definition of pathophysiology in nursing. I hope by now you are clear that pathophysiology is the study of the physiological process that the body goes through in response to a particular disease condition. And again, you are also clear that pathogenesis involves two aspects; aetiology and progression, which describes how the disease develops.
