Thyroid malignancies
Definition Malignant lesions of the thyroid gland. Papillary and follicular are known as differentiated carcinomas. Anaplastic and medullary are poorly or undifferentiated carcinomas. Key Points Many thyroid cancers found in…
Traumatic brain injury (head injury)/1
Definitions A traumatic brain injury (TBI) or head injury is the process whereby trauma to the head results in skull and/or brain inury. Primary brain injury is the damage that…
Gastrointestinal bleeding/1
Definitions GI bleeding is any blood loss from the GI tract (anywhere from the mouth to the anus), which may present with haematemesis, melaena, rectal bleeding or anaemia. Haematemesis is…
Surgical infection – general
Definitions Infection is the process whereby organisms (e.g. bacteria, viruses, fungi) capable of causing disease gain access and cause injury or damage to the body or its tissues. Pus is…
Gallstone disease/1
Definitions Gallstones are round, oval or faceted concretions found in the biliary tract containing cholesterol, calcium carbonate, calcium bilirubinate or a mixture of these. Microlithiasis is the presence of small/microscopic…
Solid organ transplantation
Definitions Transplantation is the procedure whereby cells, tissues or organs are moved from one site to another to provide structure and/or function. A graft is the organ or tissue transplanted….
Testicular cancer
Definition Malignant lesion of the testis. Key Points All newly discovered testicular lumps require investigation to exclude malignancy. Early tumours have an excellent prognosis with surgery alone. Late tumours have…
Renal (urinary) calculi
Definition Renal or urinary calculi are concretions formed by precipitation of various urinary solutes in the urinary tract. They contain calcium oxalate (60%), phosphate as a mixture of calcium, ammonium…
Postoperative pulmonary complications
Definitions Pulmonary collapse or atelectasis results from alveolar hypoventilation such that the alveolar walls collapse and become de-aerated. Pneumonia is an infection with consolidation of the pulmonary parenchyma. Key Points…
