This slide presentation gives an overview of all the basic disease processes or mechanisms through which diseases occur and would help the common man have a good understanding of diseases.

1. Howdothe
diseasesoccur?
Whatarethe
diseaseprocesses
?
Dr. Ashok Kumar Batham,
M.B.,B.S., M.D., D.C.R.,
Dr. Batham’s On-line Clinic
Phone: +91 93280 18777
Email: ashokpharmacol@gmail.com
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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2. Disease
Processes
 Some basic processes are generally responsible for
producing a disease.
 Knowledge of these processes helps the doctors
understand the probable cause and genesis of an illness.
Consequently, through clinical examination and tests and
procedures the diagnosis of the disease is established.
 Based on the diagnosis a treatment plan is chalked
involving:
 Medicines (modern, herbal, dietary supplements),
 Surgery,
 Radiotherapy,
 Physiotherapy,
 Psychotherapy,
 Behavioral therapy, and
 Other modalities.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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3. INFECTIONS
Infections or infectious disorders are caused by the successful
invasion of the body by micro-organisms or very tiny germs that can
be seen only with the help of a microscope, for example:
 Viruses - common cold, influenza, poliomyelitis, chicken pox,
small pox, measles, mumps, German measles etc.),
 Bacteria (pneumonia, urinary infections, wound infections etc.),
 Fungi (skin infections like tinea pedis, tinea cruris, tinea corporis,
tinea barbae, and severe systemic invasive fungal infections),
 Rickettsia (typhus, Q-fever, Rocky spotted mountain fever),
 Amoeba (malaria, dysentery, liver abscess),
 Trypanosomes causing leishmaniasis (kala azar and others like
cutaneous, mucosal and visceral leishmaniasis),
 Worms (round worm, thread worm, pinworm, hook worm, and
 Other parasites such as lice and mites (scabies).
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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4. INFLAMMATION
(Characteristics)
Inflammation is the most common disease
process. It is characterized by 5 cardinal
signs:
 (i) pain (dolor),
 (ii) redness (rubor),
 (iii) swelling (tumor),
 (iv) rise of temperature of whole body
(fever) or affected part of the body (calor),
and
 (v) impairment of function (function
laesa).
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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5. INFLAMMATION
(Characteristics)
Inflammation is caused by:
 Infections,
 Injuries caused by weapons (knives, hammers, swords,
daggers, bullets etc. etc.),
 Burns caused by fire, electricity, radiations,
 Exposure to strong chemicals (acids and alkalies),
 Surgical injuries caused by surgeon’s knife and other
instruments,
 Stone formation in the body (kidney stones, gall bladder
stones),
 Crystal formation and deposition (as in gouty arthritis
caused by formation and deposition of uric acid crystals,
 Autoimmune injury – rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing
spondylitis, systemic lupus erythematosus,
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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6. ALLERGY
(Causes)
Abnormal hypersensitivity reaction to some substances that
do not cause harm to majority of people is called allergy.
Allergic reactions are caused by:
 Certain items of food, such as, fish, peas, chillies, beans
etc.
 Air pollutants – pollens from the flowers of certain plants
and trees, deodorants, perfumes, talcum powder, insect
repellants, dust, animal dander, fumes, smoke etc.
 Skin cosmetics (creams, powders, lotions, serums),
medicines applied on skin, other chemicals that come in
contact with skin
 Certain medicines - penicillin
Allergic reactions of the skin are characterized by formation
of red spots, surrounded by spreading redness and localized
swelling due to oozing of fluid under the skin (typical triple-
response – i. red spot, ii. flare and iii. wheal) associated with
intense itching in the area.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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7. ALLERGY
(Characteristics)
Allergic reactions are basically characterized by:
 Dilatation of blood vessels (vasodilatation)- typical
triple-response – i. red spot, ii. flare and iii. wheal,
 Oozing of fluid into tissues due to increased
permeability of fine blood vessels (capillaries),
 Angioedema,
 Spasm of smooth muscles of respiratory passage,
intestines etc.
 Vasodilatation in the entire body causing severe fall in
blood pressure (anaphylactic shock),
 Intense itching – either local or all over the body
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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8. ALLERGY
(Commondiseases)
Common allergic diseases:
 Allergic rhinitis,
 Allergic conjunctivitis,
 Allergic dermatitis (urticaria),
 Angioedema,
 Allergic bronchitis or bronchial asthma,
 Insect bites, and
 Anaphylactic shock.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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9. VASCULAR
OBSTRUCTION
(Arterial)
 Obstruction of blood vessels (coronary arteries)
supplying blood to the heart lead to Ischemic heart
disease (IHD) or angina pectoris and acute coronary
syndrome when it is incomplete or partial, but when
it is complete it leads to Myocardial Infarction
(Heart attack),
 Complete obstruction of blood vessels supplying
blood to the brain (cerebral arteries) leads to brain
stroke or cerebral stroke, and Transient Ischemic
Attacks (when the obstruction is reversible),
 Complete obstruction of a limb vessel causes
gangrene of toes, foot and fingers. When the
obstruction is incomplete, it causes intermittent
claudications in the legs and intense pain in fingers.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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10. Vascular
Obstruction
(Venous)
 Vascular obstruction of veins or the blood
vessels through which the blood flows
back to the heart causes swelling of the
affected part.
 Venous obstruction is generally caused by
formation of blood clots in the veins
(venous thrombosis).
 Blood clot in the vein may dislodge and
flow to the heart from where it may be
pumped into the lea lung causing
Pulmonary Thromboembolism (a fatal
condition).
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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11. NUTRITIONAL
DEFICIENCIES
Deficiencies of nutrients like vitamins, minerals, amino
acids, certain fatty acids in the diet or food lead to:
 Anemia due deficiencies of iron, vitamin B12 and folic
acid.
 Calcium and vitamin D deficiencies cause rickets in
children and osteomalacia in adults.
 Deficiency of vitamin A causes night blindness.
 Deficiencies of vitamin B factors cause Beri Beri,
pellagra etc.
 Vitamin C deficiency causes Scurvy.
 Severe deficiency of proteins and calories
(carbohydrates and fats) in the food causes
Kwashiorkor.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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12. NUTRITIONAL
EXCESSES
Excessive food consumption (more than
required) causes
 obesity,
 diabetes, and
 dyslipidemia.
Excess vitamin consumption leads to
hypervitaminosis, particularly with
vitamins A and D.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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13. METABOLIC
ABNORMALITIES
Disturbances of the body’s biochemical processes lead to
diseases, such as:
 Diabetes mellitus due to disturbance of carbohydrate
metabolism (excessive consumption of food, inability of
body’s cell to use glucose and clear glucose load due to
deficiency of insulin) which causes increased blood
sugar and appearance of sugar in urine leading to
excessive hunger and thirst, and passage of large
quantity of urine.
 Gout is caused by derangement of protein metabolism
leading to accumulation of uric acid in the blood and
its deposition in the kidneys and joints.
 Disturbances of fat metabolism that are collectively
called dyslipidemias.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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14. ENDOCRINE
DYSFUNCTIONS
(Excessive
Productionof
Hormones)
Endocrine disorders are caused either by reduced
production or increased production of hormones
by endocrine glands.
 Excessive production of thyroid hormone by
thyroid gland leads to hyperthyroidism or
thyrotoxicosis.
 Excessive production of growth hormone by the
pituitary gland produces increased height and
weight (gigantism).
 Excessive production of adrenal corticoid
hormones causes Cushing’s Syndrome.
 Excessive production of prolactin by posterior
pituitary causes hyperprolactinemis (excessive
milk secretion and menstrual abnormalities).
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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15. ENDOCRINE
DYSFUNCTIONS
(Decreased
Productionof
Hormones)
Endocrine disorders are caused either by reduced
production or increased production of hormones by
endocrine glands.
Decreased production of thyroxine by thyroid gland
causes hypothyroidism,
 Thyroxine deficiency in children lead to Cretinism.
 Reduced production of growth hormone causes
retardation of growth of the body (dwarfism),
 Deficiency of insulin due to improper function of
pancreas causes diabetes mellitus,
 Deficiency of adrenal hormones causes Addison’s
Disease,
 Decreased production of testosterone by testes causes
hypogonadism in males.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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16. DEGENERATION
Degenerative processes are related to
advancing age and responsible for:
 Presbyopia (inability to read or see near
objects),
 Osteoarthritis,
 Baldness and Greying of hair,
 Senile dementia,
 Parkinson’s disease,
 Alzheimer’s Disease,
 Huntington’s chorea.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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17. NEOPLASIA
Neoplasia means formation of new growths or
tumors (neoplasms) that may be
 Malignant: A malignant tumor, is called a
carcinoma or cancer, and such tumors grow
rapidly and spread to neighboring parts and also
to distant locations via blood stream or lymphatic
ducts, and proves fatal if not treated timely using
proper methods involving surgical removal,
radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.
 Benign tumors: These tumors grow slowly and
generally do not kill the patient but produce their
ill effects due to their physical presence or
obstruction or compression of surrounding
structures or organs or cosmetic disturbances.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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18. IMMUNOLOGICAL
DISORDERS
(Immunodeficiency
States)
Incompetence or deficiency of defense mechanisms
(Immunity) which may be caused by:
 HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) leading to AIDS
,
 Certain drugs, and
 Endogenous diseases,
This can lead to all possible infections and infestations.
Sometimes the body’s immune mechanisms may be
misdirected towards its own tissues, like synovial
membrane and other joint structures (in rheumatoid
arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis) intestines (in ulcerative
colitis), valves of the heart in rheumatic heart disease
(valves of heart), skin and other organs (in systemic
lupus erythematosus).
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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19. IMMUNOLOGICAL
DISORDERS
(Autoimmune
Disorders)
Sometimes the body’s immune mechanisms
may be misdirected towards its own tissues,
such as:
 Synovial membrane and other joint
structures (as in rheumatoid arthritis,
ankylosing spondylitis),
 Intestines (in ulcerative colitis),
 Valves of the heart in rheumatic heart
disease (mitral stenosis, mitral
incompetence),
 Skin and other organs (in systemic lupus
erythematosus).
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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20. GENETIC
ABNORMALITIES
Certain diseases occur as result
of alterations in the genetic
material (genome) located on
the chromosomes, for example:
Down’s syndrome,
Huntington’s chorea,
Hemophilia-A.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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21. CONGENITAL
MALFORMATIONS
OR
DEFORMITIES
These defects or malformations present are
present right from the time of birth, and
either detected at that time or later on in the
life, and include:
 Hare lip,
 Cleft palate,
 Hole in the heart,
 Down’s syndrome,
 Huntington’s chorea, Presence of six-fingers,
 Fingers joined together,
 Three fingers.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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22. POISONING
Poisons or poisonous substances including
medicines in excessive doses may be consumed
either:
 accidentally or
 intentionally to commit (suicide) or
 administered by others to kill the person
(homicide).
Common causes of poisoning include
alcoholism, methanol poisoning, carbon
monoxide, medicines or drugs, cyanide,
mercury, arsenic, and lead. Long-term
exposure to pollutants in food, water, and air
are now reaching epidemic proportions.
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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23. MENTALSTRESS,
DISTRESSANDPHYSICAL
STRAIN(LIFE-STYLE
DISEASES)
Life Style
Diseases
Caused by mental
stress or precisely by
distress and include:
 Obesity,
 Diabetes Mellitus,
 Hypertension,
 Heart Attack,
 Brain Stroke,
 Anxiety,
 Depression,
 Psychosomatic
Disorders,
 Bulimia,
 Anorexia Nervosa,
 Body Dysmorphic
Disorder,
 Smoking,
 Alcoholism,
 Substance Abuse
And Addiction
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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24. ThankYou
Dr.Ashok Kumar Batham
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