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Chief complaint (CC)
A brief statement of the reason the patient is seeking care.
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History of present illness (HPI)
An in-depth evaluation of the chief complaint, beginning with the time the patient frist noticed the symptom and moving toward the present.
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Past medical history (PMH)
Patient's state of overall health before the present problem.
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Family history (FH)
The age (or age of death) and health of spouse, children, siblings, parents, and grandparents to identify a pattern of health risk for the patient.
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Personal and social history (SH)
Work, marriage, sexual, and spiritual experiences; patient's use of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs.
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Review of systems (ROS)
A section of the health history in which the examiner asks about possible complaints for each body system.
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Nonmaleficence
The ethical principle that means "do no harm" to the patient.
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Utilitarianism
A theory that defines the appopriate use of resources as that which results in the greatest good for the greatest number (concern for the larger community outweighs the needs of the individual).
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Beneficence
The ethical principle that means "do good" for the patient.
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Autonomy
The patient's need for self-determination.
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Acculturation
The act of shedding one culture and assuming another.
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Culture
A complex integrated system reflecting the whole of human behavior and experience.
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Custom
A habitual activity passed along by family members.
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Enculturation
The act of assuming the traits or behaviors of a given culture.
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Ethnocentrism
The belief that one's own culture is superior to others. The belief in the superiority of one's own group and culture, combined with disdain for other groups and cultures.
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Ethnos
Ethnic group; people who share a common culture, race, or religion.
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Minority
A group that differs from the majority population.
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Norm
A behavior approved by group standards.
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Race
A physical characteristic not based on culture.
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Rite
A formal, religious, or other ceremonial act.
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Ritual
A sterotypic behavior regulating religious, social, and professional behaviors (e.g., the expected use of "please" and "thank you") in a veriety of cirumstances.
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Sterotype
An inflexible generalization about a group
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Subculture
A group or subgroup having values and behavior patterns that differentiate it from other groups.
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Values
The ideas, customs, and behaviors within a group or subgroup.
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Affect
An emotional response or feeling.
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Aging
Process of decline in synthesis and metabolism and neurotransmitters.
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Analogy
A figure of speech wherein objects or concepts are compared.
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Anxiety
A groupd of disorders with marked apprehension or feaer that causes significant interference with personal, social, and occupational functioning.
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Aphasia
A disturbance in the ability to express thoughts verbally or in writing.
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Apraxia
Inability to ttranslate an intention into action.
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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
A neurobehavioral problem of impaired attention and hyperactive behavior affecting 5% to 10% of school-age children.
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Autism
A pervasive neurodevelopmental disorder of unknown etiology; refers to a wide spectrum of disorders typically developing prior to 3 years of age.
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Broca
Area associated with speech formation
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Cerebrum
Love of the brain primarily responsible for mental processes.
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Cognitive
Pertaining to mental processes of memory, judgment, reasoning; cognitive impairment is characterized by loss of memory, confusion, inappropriate affect.
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Comprehension
Capacity of the mind to understand; demonstrated by ability to follow simple instructions.
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Concussion
An alteration in mental status resulting from a blow to the head or neck.
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Cortex
Part of the cerebrum responsible for perception and behavior.
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Delirium
Impaired cognition, consciousness, mood, and behavioral dysfunction of acute onset.
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Dementia
A chronic, slowly progressive disorder of failing memory, cognitive impairment, behavioral abnormalities, and personality changes that often begins after age 60 years.
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Depression
A disroder of sadness, impaired concentration, and fatigue associated with aneurochemical imbalance, a decreased level of monoamines or an increase in plasma cortisol.
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Dysarthria
A speech defect associated with motor deficit of lips, tongue, palate, or pharynx.
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Dysphonia
A disorder of voice volume, quality, or pitch.
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Glasgow
A coma scale used to assess the function of the cerebral cortex and brainstem and to quantify consciousness.
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Hallucination
A sensory experience not due to external stimulus
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Insults
Events in the brain such as trauma, infection, or chemical imbalance.
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Judgment
Ability to reason
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Limbic
Referring to the system that mediates patterns of behavior such as mating, survival, aggression, fear, and affection.
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Mania
Persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood lasting longer than a week.
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Mental retardation
Significant subaverage general cognitive functioning and deficits in adaptive behavior manifested during a child's development.
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Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)
A brief standardized screening tool used to assess cognitive function and to detect changes over time.
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Parietal
Referrring to the lobe of the brain primarily responsible for processing sensory data as they are received.
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Schizophrenia
Severe persistent, psychoticdisorder characterized by relapses throughout life
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Temproal
Referring to the lobe of the brain responsible for perception, and the interpretation of sounds
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Wernicke
Area of the temporal lobe that permits comprehension of spoken and written language.
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