Specimen Prep - Human Health and Diseases

Specimen Prep Guide: Human Health and Diseases

Common Diseases: Know the causative agents, symptoms, and modes of transmission of common diseases like typhoid, pneumonia, common cold, malaria, amoebiasis, ascariasis, and filariasis.
Immunity: Differentiate between innate and acquired immunity, and active and passive immunity. Understand the structure of an antibody and the roles of B-cells and T-cells.
AIDS & Cancer: Understand the cause, transmission, and prevention of AIDS. Know the difference between benign and malignant tumors and the causes and treatment of cancer.
Drugs & Alcohol Abuse: Understand the effects of drug and alcohol abuse.

Problem Type: Identifying a disease based on a given set of symptoms. Suggesting preventive measures for a particular disease.
Example: A patient presents with high fever, weakness, stomach pain, and constipation. Which disease is he likely suffering from? (Answer: Typhoid).

Scenario: Why does a person who has had chickenpox once in their life rarely get it again?
Analysis: This is due to acquired immunity. The body produces memory B-cells and T-cells after the first infection, which can quickly recognize and fight off the virus if it enters the body again.
Diagram Interpretation: Be able to interpret the life cycle of the malarial parasite (Plasmodium).

Vaccination: Understand the principle of vaccination. Vaccines work by introducing a weakened or inactivated pathogen or a part of a pathogen into the body to stimulate an immune response and the production of memory cells.

Assertion: An antibody is a protein molecule. Reason: It is made up of four polypeptide chains.
- (a) Both Assertion and Reason are true and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion.
Assertion: Colostrum provides passive immunity to the newborn baby. Reason: It contains pre-formed antibodies.
- (a) Both Assertion and Reason are true and Reason is the correct explanation for Assertion.

Why is it difficult to make a vaccine against the common cold?
- Answer: The common cold is caused by a large number of different viruses (rhinoviruses), and these viruses mutate frequently. This makes it difficult to create a single vaccine that would be effective against all of them.