UNIT 2 Symptoms and Illnesses N (8) (2) Bueno

UNIT 2.
Illnesses and symptoms

Name ____María_______ Surname___Fernández Sevilla____Degree_________
Due date: April 27th 2016

1. Reading: Why do we feel pain?
Words Pain
Why do we feel pain? We all feel pain in the same way, or do we?
 anaesthetic (noun):= a drug or
gas that doctors give to someone Pain is one of science’s biggest mysteries, but scientists now know much more
than they did ten years ago about how disease, your genes and your mind can
before a medical operation to
affect how you feel pain.
stop them feeling pain
A few hundred people in the world can feel no pain at all from the time they’re
 disease (noun) =an illness that
born because they have a rare disease. A life with no pain – that would be
affects people or animals, good, wouldn’t it? Well, actually no. Pain is your body’s way of warning you
especially one that is caused by about danger. If you feel no pain, you can hurt yourself more.
infection So pain is useful. But why do people sometimes feel no pain? It may be
 genes (noun) – chemicals in a
because they believe they won’t. For example, during the festival of
Thaipusam in Malaysia some believers enter a trance and can then put knives
cell that carry information about
through parts of their body and feel no pain.
the qualities passed to a living
Another example of this is when people have operations under hypnosis, with
thing from its parents
no anaesthetic, and still feel no pain. The patients are awake during these
 burn (noun): an injury caused operations and can even talk to the doctor but seem to feel no pain. Doctors
use a type of hypnosis in places where no anaesthetic is available. But it only
by exposure to heat or flame
works if you believe it. One doctor has found a way to reduce pain. His patient
 injury (noun) – physical had very bad burns and needed painful physiotherapy. The doctor found that
damage done to a person or a
if the patient played a computer game during the treatment he felt very little
pain. This is because the brain can’t concentrate on the game and the pain at
part of their body
the same time.
 painkillers= a drug or medicine
Situations of stress also seem to affect how you feel pain. During sporting
for relieving pain events or in wartime, people with injuries often don't know and continue to
 faulty(adj) –not working play sport or fight. It seems that in these situations the body can stop the pain
and actually make painkillers naturally. Recent research on one family who
correctly, having defects
can’t feel pain is promising. They are born with a faulty gene which doesn’t
 to relieve (vb.)= to cause (pain, pass on the pain message to the brain.
distress, or difficulty) to become Doctors now know the gene responsible for this and hope to use this
less severe or serious knowledge to find ways to relieve pain. This discovery and other progress
they make in the understanding of pain could help millions of people
worldwide in the future.
Source URL: http://www.macmillanglobal.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/global_elesson056_pain.pdf
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UNIT 2. Illnesses and symptoms
2. Read the article again and decide if the sentences are true (T) or false (F). Correct the
false sentences.
1. Many things affect how we feel pain. T/F
2. Many people feel no pain. T/F
A few hundred people in the world can feel no pain at all from the time they’re
born because they have a rare disease.
3. Pain can be a good thing. T/F
4. Some people don’t feel pain because they think they won’t. T/F
5. You can have an operation with no anaesthetic and feel no pain. T/F
6. If you’re under hypnosis during an operation, you can’t talk. T/F
When people have operations under hypnosis, with no anaesthetic, they feel no
pain, they patients are awake during these operations and can even talk to the
doctor but seem to feel no pain.
7. If you are thinking hard about something else, you may not feel the pain. T/F
8. It is possible that one family’s problem could help many people in the future. T/F
3. Match the meanings below to the following words from the text.
1. a medicine that makes pain less (noun) __painkiller________
2. something that is found, or something new that is learned (noun) ___discovery_____
3. probably going to be very good (adj) ___promising______
4. not happening very often (adj) ___rare_____

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5. not working correctly or made correctly (adj) ___faulty_____
6. not sleeping (adj) ___awake_____
7. to make pain less (verb) ___relieve_____
8. to think that something is true (verb) ___believe____
Talking about symptoms
Pain is the commonest symptom of illness. For pain in the following locations you use the compound
words:
 head a headache
 stomach a stomachache
 back backache
 tooth toothache
E.g. I’ve got a bad stomachache
 For the remaining parts of the body you say:
 I’ve got a pain in my leg.
The verbs to hurt and to ache can also be used:
 My leg aches/hurts.
We can also use the adjective sore.
 My leg is sore.
Note that we use the possessive adjective before the part of the body affected (my leg, my arm)
 When talking about a pain, the preposition in is used:
 He has a severe pain in his right thigh.
For the remaining symptoms (e.g. spot, bruise, lump, cut, burn), on is usually used:
 He has a cut on his forehead.
 The intensity of pain is usually described as mild, moderate or severe.
 The frequency of pain can be described as occasional, frequent and constant.

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 Pain can also be described as acute (of short duration), and chronic (of long duration-generally
longer than 3 months).
 When asking a patient about pain we normally ask about the following aspects: Time of onset,
duration, location, radiation, type, alleviating and aggravating factors, medication and frequency.
4. Match the aspects of pain in column A to the corresponding questions on column B.
COLUMN A COLUMN B
1. Time of onset a. Can you describe the pain to me?
2. Duration b. Have you had it before?
3. Location c. Can you show me where you get the pain?
4. Radiation d. When did it start?
5. Type of pain e. Does anything make it worse?
6. Alleviating factors f. Have you noticed anything else with the pain?
7. Aggravating factors g. Does it spread anywhere else?
8. Previous episodes h. How long have you had the pain?
9. Medication i. Does anything make it better?
10. Frequency j. How often do you get the pain?
11. Accompanying symptoms k. Are you taking any medication for the pain?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
D H C G A I E B K J F
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5. Vocabulary: Body systems. Click on each of the systems below to study the vocabulary
related to the body systems in an online visual dictionary.
The digestive system The respiratory system The cardiovascular system
The nervous system The urinary system
6. Functions of the body organs. Click on the following words, watch the videos and match each
organ with its function.
Organ Function
1.kidneys a. to pump blood around the body and to supply it with oxygen
2. lungs b. to digest food
3. heart c. to remove carbon dioxide from the blood and to increase its oxygen content.
4. skin d. to filter wastes from the blood and to regulate the water and ions in the body
e. to protect the body, regulate temperature and transmit information to the brain
5. brain
about the surroundings
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6. stomach f. to provide us with the capacity to reason, to experience feelings, and to understand
1 2 3 4 5 6
D C A E F B
7. Listen to the videos again and complete the gaps with the following words:
a. The respiratory system
lungs diaphragm windpipe ribs bronchi
1. The two primary organs of the respiratory system are the a. lungs
2. The function of the b. ___windpipe______ is to conduct air to the lungs.
3. The trachea branches into smaller structures called c. ____bronchi______.
4. In the inspiration or inhalation phase, the d. ___diaphragm____ contracts and pulls downward
while the muscles located between the e. _ribs___ contract and pull upward.
b. The cardiovascular system
tissues lungs vital arteries veins heart
5. The functions of the f. ____heart___ are to pump oxygenated blood around the body.
6. The g. _____arteries____ carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body´s h.
____tissues_____ and i. ___vital__organs.
7. The j. ___veins_____ carry deoxigenated blood from the tissues towards the heart. From there,
it passes to the k. _____lungs_________ to receive more oxygen.
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c. The nervous system
cerebellum spinal cord cerebral cortex cerebrum brain stem
8. The l. ___cerebrum_______, m. ___cerebellum_____ and n. _____brain stem___ are the 3

major components of the brain.
9. The outside portion of the cerebrum is the o. __cerebral cortex_________.
10. The p. ___cerebellum_____ is located near the base of the head.
11. The brain stem connects the brain with the q. ________spinal cord________.
d. The digestive system
stomach oesophagus lining wall small

intestine
12. Food travels through the r. _____oesophagus______ and is further broken down before its
nutrients are absorbed in the s. ______small intestine_________.
13. Ulcers can be caused when there is an imbalance between the digestive juices produced by the
t. ______stomach_____ and the various factors that protect the u. ___lining___ of the stomach.
14. An ulcer can completely erode the stomach v._____wall________.
e. The skin
epidermis dermis skin hypodermis sebaceous glands
15. The body’s largest organ is the w.____skin_______.
16. The top layer of skin is known as x._____epidermis_________ .
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17. The very bottom layer of the skin is called the y. __hypodermis_____.
18. The layer that lies between the epidermis and the hypodermis is the z. ___dermis__________.
19._____Sebaceous glands_____ are all over the body and they produce the oil in the skin.
8. Digestive system anatomy. Match the terms on column A with the definitions on column B.
Source: Merriam Webster Online Dictionary
8.1. Match the term on the left with one of the definitions or descriptions on the right
1. Pancreas A. Dilated section of the digestive tract; it stores, stirs and mixes food with the gastric
juices it secretes before emptying it into the duodenum.
2. Gallbladder B. Muscular membranous channel of the anterior section of the digestive tract; it allows
food to reach the stomach.
3. Large intestine C. Digestive gland connected to the duodenum; produces secretions and hormones
(especially insulin).
4. Liver D. Viscera secreting substances, including bile, that help digestion and break up certain
toxins contained in the blood.
5. Stomach E. Last wide section of the digestive tract, about 5 ft long, where the final stage of
digestion and elimination of waste occurs; it includes the colon and the rectum.
6. Esophagus F. Small reservoir where bile secreted by the liver gathers before emptying into the
duodenum during digestion. Bile helps in the digestion of fatty substances.
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1 2 3 4 5 6
C F E D A B
9. Talking about symptoms

Patients may use the following expressions when talking about symptoms:
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10. In the table below you can find the definition of some of the most common
symptoms
Symptom Definition
runny nose rhinorrhea - persistent watery mucus discharge from the nose (as in the common cold).
the act of expelling air from the lungs suddenly and noisily, often to keep the respiratory
cough
passages free of irritating material.
a spotted, pink or red skin eruption that may be accompanied by itching and is caused by
rash
disease, contact with an allergen, food ingestion, or drug reaction
one of the signs of acute inflammation caused by the exudation of fluid from the capillary
swelling
vessels into the tissue.
temperature an abnormally high condition of body heat caused by illness; a fever.
numbness loss of feeling or sensation
11. Signs and symptoms of the different body systems. Check the meaning of the following
symptoms in this bilingual dictionary:
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12. Watch the following video on flu symptoms and diagnosis and answer the following questions.
1. How can we get infected with the flu virus?

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We get infected with the flu virus from someone who sneezes or coughs near you because they
spray tiny droplets into the air, so if we breathe these droplets through the nose or the mouth, we
get infected.
Another way we can get infected is when these droplets settle on a surface so that flu virus survive
on this surface for 2 to 8 hours. If we touch a surface like this and then we touch our nose or
mouth we can get infected as well.
2. What are the symptoms of flu?
The flu symptoms are congestion, sore throat, cough, fever and chills as well as runny nose.
3. What is the meaning of ILI?
ILI stands for Influenza-like Illness
4. How do doctors confirm the diagnosis for the influenza virus?
They take a nasal pharyngeal swab into the nose into the back of the throat to collect some these
cells and they send this to the laboratory.
13. Watch the video again and complete the following gaps:
At this point in your life you've probably been infected with the influenza virus so think back if you can on what
was probably a pretty miserable experience and think of the symptoms that you had.
All the symptoms that we feel when we're 1. _secrete__ with the flu are related to the course that the virus takes
as it moves through our body.
0:22
But first the virus has to get into our body and so let's say that someone who's infected with the flu
2. __sneezes_____ or 3. _____coughs___ near you and they spray a bunch of tiny droplets into the air.
Each of these droplets can contain millions of influenza viruses and if we 4.__breathe___ this in through the
nose or the mouth we can get infected this way.
0:40
Another way we can get infected is let´s say some of these 5. ___droplets____ settle on a surface like a table for
instance. The flu virus can survive on a surface like this for 2 to 8 hours, and so if we are unfortunate enough to
touch a surface like this and then touch our mouth or our nose we can get infected this way as well.
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And this is why practicing good hand 6.____hygiene_____ is so critical in preventing the 7._____spread_____
of disease, so don't forget to wash your hands especially during flu season.
1:10
Now in this case unfortunately the virus has entered into our system and it's moving its way through body. It's
going to infect 8.______cells_____ along the way and can cause cell damage.
The damage that these cells experience is going to show up as the symptoms that were so familiar with, so as the
virus moves into the nose we may get some 9. ______congestion____. Then the virus is going to make its way
down into the throat giving us a 10. ____sore throat_____________.
1:44
Then it will get all the way into the 11. _______lungs______, causing a cough. In response to the damage that
the virus causes the body the immune system is going to increase the temperature of the body in hopes that this
will make viral replication more difficult and this is why we get fever and 12. ___chills_________.
Now this battle that the body is fighting against the influenza virus consumes a lot of energy and so this is why
we are so exhausted when all said and done, we're just in bed for days it's 13. ____miserable_______.
2: 19
A lot of common viruses can cause these symptoms right, like the common cold for instance can give us a 14.
____runny nose_____, so how do we know that it's actually the influenza virus specifically that's making us feel
so sick?. Typically a person infected with influenza virus will have a fever over a hundred degrees along with
either a sore throat or a 15. ____cough _______.
This combination of symptoms is what we call an influenza-like illness. We say influenza-like illness because
it's not yet confirmed with a laboratory test, it's just a combination of symptoms and we shorten this by saying
ILI.
3:02
During flu season between December and February say, doctors who see an influenza-like 16.__ illness ____
will usually attribute this to an infection with the influenza virus without getting a laboratory 17.____test_____.
So next time one of your friend says I had the flu last week I was completely congested, now you know you can
say well did you have a fever with either a sore throat or cough because that's what you really need for the
clinical diagnosis of an influenza-like illness.
So we call this a nasal pharyngeal 18. ____swab_______ , nasal for nose and pharyngeal for throat and we're
going to take this nasal pharyngeal swab into the nose into the back of the throat to collect some these cells and
we're gonna send this to the 19. ____lab___ and to find out if in fact it's an infection with influenza virus.
There are other kinds of lab tests that can confirm the diagnosis of influenza infection but this is the most
common and most likely what you'll see in a 20.___clinical_____ setting.
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14.. Comprehension. Fill in the gaps in the following sentences about the flu.
1. When someone who is infected with the influenza virus a._____sneezes_____ or b.____coughs_________
near you they spray into the air a bunch of tiny droplets which contain millions of influenza viruses.
2. We can get infected with the flu virus when we c.____breathe_______ these droplets in through our nose or
when we touch d.______a surface_____ where the flu virus has settled.
3. When the virus moves into the nose it can cause e.___congestion____________ and when the virus make its
way down into the throat it can give us a f. ___sore throat_________.
4. When it reaches the lungs we can get a g. ______cough_________.
5. The body increases its temperature of to make viral replication more difficult and this may cause
h.______fever and chills_____________ .
6. This battle against the influenza virus consumes a lot of energy and so this is why we are so i.
____exhausted____ and we feel miserable.
15. Watch the following video on the difference between a cold and a flu and answer the questions:
1. What is the difference between the common cold and the flu?
The difference between cold and the flu is that they are caused by different viruses. On the one
hand, cold’s symptoms tend do come on gradually; they are not too severe, they affect the
upper respiratory tract as well as the nose and the throat. Moreover, you tend to be able to get
on and do things. On the other hand, the flu is a more severe illness for the majority of people
since it prevents people from doing anything other than lying down on the sofa or in their bed.
2. What is the doctor´s advice to treat the common cold?
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The doctor’s advice is then it's to rest as much as possible, eat enough food, drink enough non-
alcoholic liquid and then use over-the-counter remedies like paracetamol, ibuprofen, a cough
medicine, decongestants, for example, to relieve those symptoms.
3. What is the doctor´s advice to treat the flu?
The doctor’s advice to treat the flu is to rest as much as possible, drink plenty of liquid and use
remedies to actually relieve the symptoms of muscle aches and pains and a high temperature, so
paracetamol and ibuprofen, for example. He says that decongestants are good for relieving the
bunged-up feeling that people get, and also a cough medicine is good as well if you get a tickly,
itchy or indeed a productive cough. Additionally, steam inhalation is something that many
people benefit from. It helps to relieve the congestion in the nose.
4. Are antibiotics recommended for treating flu and the common cold?
No, they aren’t because the flu and the common cold are caused by a virus, so antibiotics will
not be of any benefit.
5. When are antiviral treatments recommended?
Doctors may recommend an anti-viral treatment if somebody is in a high-risk group and flu is
circulating within that community
6. Who is at a higher risk of suffering the complications of the flu?
Everybody over the age of 65, those people living in a residential home or a nursing home,
somebody who's the primary care of somebody with an illness, for whom if the care becomes
sick it will put that individual's care at risk, and then anybody over the age of six months who
has a long-term condition affecting their lungs, their heart, their liver, their kidneys, that has
diabetes or whose immune system is weakened because of a medical condition or medical
treatment.
Check your answers in the transcript at the end of the unit.
16. Listen to the following video on infectious disease from the CU Mini Medical School and complete the
following information below:
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00:06
100 years ago the ten most common causes of death in the USA were __infectious________.
Life expectancy in the USA has increased _________2 days for every week__________ since 1900,
from ___50__ years to _____80______ years.
00:40
What are the four most important reasons for the decline in deaths from infection?
The most important reasons for the decline in deaths from infection are the availability of clean water ,
sanitation, immunizations, and antibiotics
Why infectious diseases are still a major threat today?
Because there are countries where clean water, immunization and antibiotics are not always available or
properly used.
01:16
Name the biggest microorganisms that carry and cause disease
The biggest microorganisms are parasites, including multicellular creatures such as worms and insects
which not only carry disease, like lice do, but can cause them, like ticks; to single-cell protozoans like the
Plasmodium that causes malaria, or the amoebas that cause a variety of intestinal infections.
01:45
What parts of the body do fungi and yeasts infect?
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Yeast infects the mucous membranes which are very common in infants and adults. Fungi usually infect
the skin but cause serious disease if widely distributed internally.
02:07
What serious diseases do the bacteria cause?
Bacteria do cause some very serious diseases, including pneumonia, tetanus, cholera, typhoid fever,
diphtheria, tuberculosis, leprosy, and plague.
02:33
How do viruses infect our system?
They must get into cells and take over the cell’s machinery for making nucleic acids and proteins. Some
viruses can insert their genetic material into our genomes, stay there for a while, and then leave in an
infectious burst. Some don’t leave and about 8% of the human genome is clearly derived from old virus
insertions.
03:00 What illnesses are caused by infectious proteins called prions?
These are the causative agents of mad cow disease and the human equivalent, variant Creutzfeldt - Jakob
disease, as well as similar conditions like scrapie in sheep.
Check your answers in the transcript at the end of this unit.
17. Reading: The World’s Most Dangerous Pathogens: Match the following illnesses with their
descriptions
Crimean Congo Nipah Middle East Respiratory Syndrome

hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) (MERS)
Marburg virus Lassa fever Rift Valley fever

(RFV)
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SARS Ebola Virus Disease
1. Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF)___ is widespread in Africa, the Balkan countries, the
Middle East, and Asia south of the 50th parallel (Harbin, Ulan Bataar). It is caused by the tick-borne
nairovirus. In outbreaks the case fatality rate has been near 40%. There is no vaccine and most drugs
have not been tested in this disease.
2._Ebola virus disease____, named after the African river near where one of the earliest outbreaks
occurred, is caused by a filovirus (filo= thread). It is highly infectious, perhaps more so than any other
disease, and has a case-fatality rate that has ranged from 40 to 90%. There are 5 known strains of
ebolavirus. The natural host is thought to be a fruit bat, but person-to-person spread can create the large
epidemics as seen in 2014-5. Vaccines are in trials now, and an antibody preparation seems to be
effective.
3. ___ Marburg virus ____ causes hemorrhagic fever. It is a filovirus, related to Ebola. It was identified
in 1967 after outbreaks in Germany, and Belgrade in Serbia. These were all associated with laboratories
studying the African Green Monkey. The reservoir is, as for Ebola, likely to be bats. There have been
small outbreaks in several sub-Saharan countries. In the two largest outbreaks case-fatality rate was
over 80%. Pigs are susceptible to it, suggesting a worrisome possible vector for spread among humans.
4. _ Lassa fever _____ is an RNA virus of the arenavirus family. The full-blown acute hemorrhagic
disease is dreadful; fortunately only 20% of infected people become ill. Rats seem to be the vector. It is
endemic (always present) in West African countries. Rat control seems to be the best way to prevent
the spread of this virus.
5.___ Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS)_is caused by a coronavirus, related to the SARS
virus of 2002-3. The host seems to be the camel, which gets a mild respiratory disease. Insufficient
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information has come from most countries where it occurs to know in detail the number of cases and
the fatality rate, or even how it spreads. There is no vaccine for animals or humans. Based on WHO
and other documents, January 2016, by JJ Cohen.
6. __ SARS_, the severe acute respiratory syndrome, was caused by a coronavirus that originated in
Guangdong province. It seems to be extinct now, after causing about 8000 cases and 800 fatalities. It is
very surprising to see this on WHO’s list of pathogens of highest concern.
7. ______Nipah_______and the closely related Hendra viruses are sometimes called Henipahvirus.
They are RNA viruses that occur in Southeast Asia and Australia. It causes a highly fatal disease in
horses, which some of their handlers have caught. Bats seem to be the Nipah reservoir, which infect
domestic pigs. Small outbreaks in humans, with 30-40% fatality, have arisen; the immediate source was
probably pigs.
8. Rift Valley fever (RFV) is primarily a disease of livestock, especially sheep, it can be transmitted
directly to humans by a sick animal. It was first detected in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya. The animal-
to-animal vector is the mosquito. The human disease is usually mild, with severe cases affecting eyes,
nervous system, or blood. The hemorrhagic form, seen in fewer that 1% of those affected, is about 50%
fatal.
Source: http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive/malaria-human-host
18. WRITING PRACTICE: Write a short description of the following body systems. Your
descriptions should include location, size and shape of the main organs and their main functions (100
words each). You can watch and read the subtitles of the following videos to get some ideas. You will
also find reference documents on each of the systems uploaded in the portal.
a. The respiratory system

The respiratory system consists of all the organs involved in breathing. These include the nose, pharynx,
larynx, trachea, bronchi and lungs. This system does two very important things: it brings oxygen into our
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bodies, which we need for our cells to live and function properly; and it helps us get rid of carbon dioxide,
which is a waste product. The nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea and bronchi are like a system of pipes through
which the air passes to our lungs. There, oxygen is brought into the bloodstream thanks to the alveoli and
carbon dioxide is pushed out into the air. These are the main location, size, shape and functions of the main
organs:
 Nose: Nose is located in the middle of the face and it works as a principal part of the respiratory
system. Moreover, it is the primary organ of smell. The human nose is composed of skin and other
soft tissues, cartilages, and bones. There are a series of canals of air called sinus cavities inside our
face. Sinus cavities, oral cavities and cheekbones are responsible for breathing, smelling, inmmune
system defense and tasting.
 Pharynx: Pharynx is a 4-5 inches long semicircular tube, commonly known as the throat that
connects the nasal cavity to the larynx, and the oral cavity to the esophagus. It is located just below
the nasal and oral cavities and before the larynx and esophagus. It consists of the nasal, oral, and
laryngeal divisions: nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx. The pharynx is part of both the
digestive system and respiratory system. In the respiratory system the pharynx works as the
connecting tube between the nasal cavity and larynx, as well as the oral cavity and esophagus.
 Larynx: The larynx, commonly referred to as the voice box, is a 2-inch long tube that connects the
pharynx to the windpipe or trachea. It is one of the most important structures of the respiratory
system because it plays a crucial role in the production of speech in humans. It is located at the
anterior side of the neck, in front of the pharynx and above the windpipe. This larynx is made up of
multiple pieces of tough cartilage. Its internal cavity can be divided into the following parts:
supraglottis, glottis and subglottis. The respiratory and digestive systems separate the larynx, making
it a vital organ in the function of both. Another primary function of the voice box is producing
sounds and speech. In the respiratory system, it provides passage of air from the nasal cavity to the
lungs. When humans inhale, air enters through the nasal cavity and mouth, it travels through the
pharynx, larynx, and bronchi to reach the lungs.
 Trachea: Trachea is a synonym of windpipe; it is the largest airway in the respiratory

system, about 4-5 inches in length and 1 inch in diameter. The trachea, bronchi,
bronchioles, and alveoli together make up the lower respiratory tract. It starts at the neck’s
base and it is located in the thoracic or chest cavity, in front of the esophagus. It divides
into the left and right bronchus, connected to the left and right lung respectively. The main
functions of the trachea are the following: The windpipe lets the the air travel in and out of
the lungs. The inhaled air passes from the nasal and oral cavities, through the pharynx,
larynx, trachea, and bronchi into the lungs. Similarly, during exhalation, the carbon dioxide
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air goes from the lungs into the trachea, larynx, and pharynx via the bronchi, to be expelled
through the nasal and oral cavities.
 Bronchi: Bronchi are the primary passageway for air to get into the lungs. There are two
primary (extrapulmonary) bronchi – the right and left main bronchi that connect the trachea
to the two lungs. The bronchi are located in the thoracic cavity, together with the trachea
and lungs. It originates from the lower end of the trachea or windpipe, where it divides into
the left and right bronchus. The main function of the primary bronchi is to carry oxygen
into the lungs during inhalation and let carbon dioxide air out of the lungs and into the
trachea on its way out during exhalation. It is the connection between the rest of the
respiratory tract and the lungs.
 Alveoli: Alveoli are the small sacks of 200-500 diameters, making up a vital part of the respiratory
zone of the human lungs. Each alveolus plays an important role in letting oxygen and carbon dioxide
move into and from the bloodstream during inhalation and exhalation. The alveoli are all
interconnected with each other. When the air enters the body, the gaseous oxygen needs to reach the
bloodstream so it can be sent to each cell in the body. The carbon dioxide produced by the body due
to cellular respiration needs to be excreted through the respiratory system, and for that, the CO 2
needs to reach the airways from the blood thanks to the alveoli.
 Lungs: Spongy organs that occupy most of the thoracic cavity. It is one of the primary respiratory
organs where the gas exchange occurs after the inhaled air enters the lungs via the trachea, through
the bronchi. Humans have two lungs, the left lung, and the right lung. They are of different sizes and
are divided into multiple lobes. The lungs are located a little toward the posterior part of the human
body, below the collarbone and until the diaphragm. The left and right lungs are situated on the two
sides of the body with the heart. They are also surrounded by the rib cage. The lungs are responsible
for inhalation and exhalation, the method in which the body gets oxygen and gets rid of carbon
dioxide. When we inhale, the air enters through the nasal cavity, traveling down via the pharynx,
larynx, and trachea to enter the lungs. Then it reaches the alveoli where the gas exchange occurs. As
the oxygen-rich air reaches these alveoli, the blood takes up the oxygen. Similarly, the carbon
dioxide carried by the blood from the different organs and tissues of the body are absorbed by the
alveoli so they can be excreted along with the exhaled air.
b. The digestive system
21
The digestive system is a group of organs working together to convert food into energy and basic nutrients to
feed the entire body. In this system, the process of digestion has many stages, the first of which starts in the
mouth. Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller components, until they can be
absorbed and assimilated into the body. The main organs involved in this process are:
 Mouth: Food begins its journey in the mouth. Inside the mouth are many accessory organs that aid
in the digestion of food—the tongue, teeth, and salivary glands. Teeth chop food into small pieces,
which are moistened by saliva before the tongue and other muscles push the food into the pharynx.
 Salivary glands: There are three pairs of main salivary glands and between 800 and 1,000 minor
salivary glands, all of which mainly serve the digestive process. Saliva moistens food, and along
with the chewing action of the teeth, transforms the food into a smooth bolus. The bolus is helped by
the lubrication provided by the saliva in its passage from the mouth into the esophagus.
 Pharynx: The pharynx, or throat, is a tube connected to the posterior end of the mouth. The pharynx
is responsible for the passing of masses of chewed food from the mouth to the esophagus.
 Esophagus: The esophagus is a muscular tube connecting the pharynx to the stomach that is part of
the upper gastrointestinal tract. It carries swallowed masses of chewed food along its length. At the
inferior end of the esophagus is a muscular ring called the lower esophageal sphincter or cardiac
sphincter. The function of this sphincter is to close of the end of the esophagus and trap food in the
stomach.
 Stomach: The stomach is a muscular sac that is located on the left side of the abdominal cavity, just
inferior to the diaphragm. In an average person, the stomach is about the size of their two fists
placed next to each other. This major organ acts as a storage tank for food so that the body has time
to digest large meals properly. The stomach also contains hydrochloric acid and digestive enzymes
that continue the digestion of food that began in the mouth.
 Small intestine: The small intestine is a long, thin tube about 1 inch in diameter and about 10 feet
long that is part of the lower gastrointestinal tract. It is located just inferior to the stomach and takes
up most of the space in the abdominal cavity. The entire small intestine is coiled like a hose and the
inside surface is full of many ridges and folds. These folds are used to maximize the digestion of
food and absorption of nutrients. By the time food leaves the small intestine, around 90% of all
nutrients have been extracted from the food that entered it.
 Liver: The liver is a triangular accessory organ of the digestive system located to the right of the
stomach, just inferior to the diaphragm and superior to the small intestine. The liver weighs about 3
pounds and is the second largest organ in the body. The liver has many different functions in the
body, but the main function of the liver in digestion is the production of bile and its secretion into
the small intestine. The liver can also synthesize glucose from certain amino acids. Its digestive
functions are largely involved with the breaking down of carbohydrates. It also maintains protein
22
metabolism in its synthesis and degradation. In lipid metabolism it synthesizes cholesterol. Fats are
also produced in the process of lipogenesis. The liver synthesizes the bulk of lipoproteins.
 Gallbladder: The gallbladder is a small organ located just posterior to the liver. The gallbladder is
used to store and recycle excess bile from the small intestine so that it can be reused for the digestion
of subsequent meals. Bile flows from the liver through the bile ducts and into the gall bladder for
storage. The bile is released in response to cholecystokinin (CCK) a peptide hormone released from
the duodenum. The production of CCK (by endocrine cells of the duodenum) is stimulated by the
presence of fat in the duodenum.
 Pancreas: The pancreas is a large gland located just inferior and posterior to the stomach. It is about
6 inches long. The pancreas secretes digestive enzymes into the small intestine to complete the
chemical digestion of foods. It is both an endocrine gland and an exocrine gland. The endocrine part
secretes insulin when the blood sugar becomes high; insulin moves glucose from the blood into the
muscles and other tissues for use as energy. The endocrine part releases glucagon when the blood
sugar is low; glucagon allows stored sugar to be broken down into glucose by the liver in order to re-
balance the sugar levels. The pancreas produces and releases important digestive enzymes in the
pancreatic juice that it delivers to the duodenum.
 Large intestine: The large intestine is a long, thick tube about 2.5 inches in diameter and about 5
feet long. It is located just inferior to the stomach and wraps around the superior and lateral border
of the small intestine. The large intestine absorbs water and contains many symbiotic bacteria that
aid in the breaking down of wastes to extract some small amounts of nutrients. Feces in the large
intestine exit the body through the anal canal. In the large intestine, the passage of the digesting food
in the colon is a lot slower, taking from 12 to 50 hours until it is removed by defecation. The colon
mainly serves as a site for the fermentation of digestible matter by the gut flora. The time taken
varies considerably between individuals. The remaining semi-solid waste is termed feces and is
removed by the coordinated contractions of the intestinal walls, termed peristalsis, which propels the
excreta forward to reach the rectum and exit via defecation from the anus.
 Anus: It is the external opening of the rectum. Two sphincters control the exit of feces from the
body during an act of defecation, which is the primary function of the anus. These are the internal
anal sphincter and the external anal sphincter.. The inner sphincter is involuntary and the outer is
voluntary. It is located behind the perineum which is located behind the vagina in females and
behind the scrotum in males.
c. The cardiovascular system
The cardiovascular system consists of the heart, blood vessels, and the approximately 5 liters of blood that
the blood vessels transport. It is responsible for transporting oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and cellular waste
23
products throughout the body; the cardiovascular system is powered by the heart, which is only about the
size of a closed fist. Even at rest, the average heart easily pumps over 5 liters of blood throughout the body
every minute. The cardiovascular system has three major functions:
 Transportation: The cardiovascular system transports blood to almost all of the body’s tissues. The
blood delivers nutrients and oxygen and removes wastes and carbon dioxide to be removed from the
body. Hormones are transported throughout the body via the blood’s plasma.
 Protection: The cardiovascular system protects the body through its white blood cells. White blood cells
clean up cellular debris and fight pathogens that have entered the body. Platelets and red blood cells
form scabs to seal wounds and prevent pathogens from entering the body and liquids from leaking out.
Blood also carries antibodies that provide specific immunity to pathogens that the body has previously
been exposed to or has been vaccinated against.
 Regulation: The cardiovascular system is instrumental in the body’s ability to maintain control of
several internal conditions. Blood vessels help maintain a stable body temperature by controlling the
blood flow to the surface of the skin. Blood vessels near the skin’s surface open during times of
overheating to allow hot blood to dump its heat into the body’s surroundings. In the case of
hypothermia, these blood vessels constrict to keep blood flowing only to vital organs in the body’s core.
Blood also helps balance the body’s pH due to the presence of bicarbonate ions- Finally, the albumins in
blood plasma help to balance the osmotic concentration of the body’s cells by maintaining an isotonic
environment.
These are the main organs which are present in this system:
 Heart: The heart is a muscular organ located between to the lungs. The top of the heart connects to
the great blood vessels of the body: the aorta, vena cava, pulmonary trunk, and pulmonary veins. In
the human heart there is one atrium and one ventricle for each circulation, and with both a systemic
and a pulmonary circulation there are four chambers in total: left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium
and right ventricle. The right atrium is the upper chamber of the right side of the heart. The blood
that is returned to the right atrium is deoxygenated and it is passed into the right ventricle to be
pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for re-oxygenation and removal of carbon
dioxide. The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs as well as the pulmonary vein
which is passed into the strong left ventricle to be pumped through the aorta to the different organs
of the body.
 Blood vessels: Blood vessels are the body’s highways that allow blood to flow quickly and
efficiently from the heart to every part of the body and back again. The size of blood vessels
corresponds with the amount of blood that passes through the vessel. All blood vessels are lined
24
with a thin layer that keeps blood cells inside of the blood vessels and prevents clots from forming.
There are three major types of blood vessels: arteries, capillaries and veins:
o Veins: They are the large vessels of the body and act as the blood return counterparts of
arteries. Veins have very low blood pressures. This lack of pressure allows the walls of
veins to be much thinner, less elastic, and less muscular than the walls of arteries. Veins
rely on gravity, inertia, and the force of skeletal muscle contractions to help push blood
back to the heart. To facilitate the movement of blood, some veins contain many one-way
valves that prevent blood from flowing away from the heart. When the muscle relaxes, the
valve traps the blood until another contraction pushes the blood closer to the heart.
o Arteries: Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart. Blood carried by
arteries is usually highly oxygenated. Arteries face high levels of blood pressure as they
carry blood being pushed from the heart under great force. The walls of the arteries are
thicker, more elastic, and more muscular than those of other vessels. The largest arteries of
the body contain a high percentage of elastic tissue that allows them to stretch and
accommodate the pressure of the heart. Smaller arteries are more muscular in the structure
of their walls. The regulation of blood flow also affects blood pressure, as smaller arteries
give blood less area to flow through and therefore increases the pressure of the blood on
arterial walls.
o Capillaries: Capillaries are the smallest and thinnest of the blood vessels in the body and
also the most common. They can be found throughout every tissue of the body. Capillaries
carry blood very close to the cells of the tissues of the body in order to exchange gases,
nutrients, and waste products. The walls of capillaries consist of only a thin layer of
endothelium so that there is the minimum amount of structure possible between the blood
and the tissues. The endothelium acts as a filter to keep blood cells inside of the vessels.
19. Go to the following website (freemd, your virtual doctor) and click on the section “Disease
Checkup” at the top of the page. Choose 3 different illnesses and write their main symptoms.
25
Disease 1: Pink eye

Pinkeye or conjunctivitis is redness and inflammation covering the whites of the eyes and the
membranes on the inner part of the eyelids. Pinkeye is most often caused by a virus or by a
bacterial, allergies, chemical agents (fume, smoke), dry eyes from lack of tears or exposure to
wind and sun, and diseases.
Viral and bacterial pinkeye are extremely contagious. It's easily spread through poor hand
washing or by sharing an object (like a towel) with someone who has it. It can also spread
through coughing and sneezing. Kids diagnosed with infectious pinkeye should stay out of
school or day care for a short period of time. Allergic pinkeye (caused by seasonal pollens,
animal dander, cosmetics, and perfumes) and chemical pinkeye (from chemicals or liquids,
including bleach and furniture polish) are not contagious. Pinkeye is very common so that goes
away in 7 or 10 days without medical treatment.
The following tips help to prevent the spread of pinkeye: wash your hands before and after
touching the eyes or using medicine in the eyes, do not share eye makeup, do not use eye
makeup until the infection is fully cured, do not share contact lenses equipment, containers or
solutions, do not share towels, linens, pillows, handkerchiefs, wear eye protection to prevent
eye irritation and wear safety glasses when working with chemicals.
Disease 2. Bronchitis
Bronchitis is a viral infection that can last from 6 weeks to 2 years. That is when your bronchial tubes,
which carry air to your lungs, get infected and swollen. Symptoms include difficulty breathing and a
hacking cough that produces phlegm, chest congestion, where your chest feels full or clogged, and a
wheezing or whistling sound when you breathe. Acute bronchitis may be accompanied by an upper
26
respiratory infection. Chronic bronchitis, most often seen in heavy smokers, can lead to chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Bronchitis is caused by the same viruses that give you a cold or the flu. As your body fights off the
germs, your bronchial tubes swell and make more mucus. That means that you have smaller opening for
air to flow, which make it harder to breathe. It is treated with rest, plenty of fluids, and avoiding
smoking and fumes. In chronic cases, inhaled steroids and oxygen supplementation may be necessary.
Disease 3. Ear infection
Ear infection occurs when a cold, throat infection, or allergy attack causes fluid to become
trapped in the middle ear. This is because the middle ear is connected to the upper respiratory
tract by a tiny channel known as the Eustachian tube. Germs that are growing in the nose or
sinus cavities can climb up the Eustachian tube and enter they middle ear to star growing.
Mostly affecting children, symptoms may include earaches and thick, yellow fluid coming from
the ears, a sharp stabbing pain with immediate warm drainage from the ear canal, a feeling of
fullness in the ear, nauseas and muffled hearing.
The most common treatments for this disease are: pain relievers (acetaminophen, ibuprofen and
aspirin), antibiotics and drainages among others.
20. Go to the following website (freemd, your virtual doctor) and on the same section answer
doctor Schueler´s questions for each disease. Then transcribe the dialogue and the doctor´s
diagnosis for each checkup. (10 questions minimum)
Disease 1
27
Disease 2
Disease 3
28
VIDEO TRANSCRIPTS
TRANSCRIPT: Cold or Flu
I'm Dr Rob Hicks. I'm a GP working here at the Randolph Surgery in London. The difference between the
common cold and the flu is that they're caused by different viruses. With the common cold, the symptoms tend
to come on gradually. They're not too severe and they affect the upper respiratory tract, they affect the nose and
the throat. And with the common cold you tend to be able to get on and do things. With the flu, on the other
hand, it's a more severe illness for the majority of people. It knocks them for six and these symptoms will
prevent people from doing anything other than lying down on the sofa or in their bed. We talk about doing the
ten-pound note test.
If you see a ten-pound note on the floor and you're able to pick it up, you haven't got the flu, you're more likely
to have the common cold. The viruses that cause the cold and the flu are spread in little liquid droplets when
somebody talks, laughs, sneezes or coughs and doesn't protect their mouth and nose. You can also pick these
viruses up on your hands if you touch a surface that's contaminated with the virus, so it might be a tap, it might
be a phone, for example, and then you touch your nose and your eyes, allowing that virus to get into the body. If
somebody develops a common cold, so they're sneezing, they've got a runny nose, an itchy, tickly throat and a
bit of a dry cough, then it's important to rest as much as possible, eat enough food, drink enough non-alcoholic
liquid and then use over-the-counter remedies like paracetamol, ibuprofen, a cough medicine, decongestants, for
example, to relieve those symptoms. If somebody has the flu, they're knocked for six for most cases. Again it's
important to rest as much as possible, drink plenty of liquid and use remedies to actually relieve the symptoms of
muscle aches and pains and a high temperature, so paracetamol and ibuprofen, for example. Decongestants are
29
good for relieving the bunged-up feeling that people get, and also a cough medicine is good as well if you get a
tickly, itchy or indeed a productive cough. Steam inhalation is something that many people benefit from. It helps
to relieve the congestion in the nose. As with the common cold, the flu is caused by a virus, so antibiotics will
not be of any benefit. Now, doctors may recommend an anti-viral treatment if somebody is in a high-risk group
and flu is circulating within that community. I think it's very important that those people who are at greater risk
of suffering the complications of the flu, so chest infections and pneumonia, for example, and needing to go into
hospital for treatment, have a flu jab every year. So these people include everybody over the age of 65, those
people living in a residential home or a nursing home, somebody who's the primary carer of somebody with an
illness, for whom if the carer becomes sick it will put that individual's care at risk, and then anybody over the age
of six months who has a long-term condition affecting their lungs, their heart, their liver, their kidneys, that has
diabetes or whose immune system is weakened because of a medical condition or medical treatment. For most
people who develop the common cold or indeed get struck down by the flu, they can safely be managed at home
looking after themselves, or with the flu you often need somebody to look after you. In the ideal world, if
somebody develops a cold, they would stay at home and rest, but we don't live in the ideal world, unfortunately,
so it's important that if somebody still has to go to work with a cold that they try and protect the others around
them. And simply this means when they are coughing and sneezing to cover their nose and mouth with a
disposable tissue, to throw this away and to wash their hands. And throughout the day to wash their hands
frequently to make sure that none of the virus is going on the hands, then being transmitted to surfaces that other
people may touch and pick up. And the same goes for those in the working environment. It's important for them
to wash their hands frequently because we will all touch these surfaces and we can't guarantee that those viruses
won't be present and that we won't then pick them up and get infected.
TRANSCRIPT: Infectious Disease
00:06 Infections have carried off most people since there were humans; even 100 years ago, 4 of the top ten
causes of death in the USA were infectious. In 2012, only one—influenza and pneumonia—made the top ten list.
This is largely why life expectancy at birth, at least in the USA, has increased by 2 days for every week since
1900, from 50 years to 80 years. A thousand years ago, life expectancy was nowhere much more than 30 years.
00:40 The most important reasons for the decline in deaths from infection are the availability of clean water and
sanitation; immunizations, and antibiotics. Nevertheless, as our world gets more complicated and travel gets
easier, infectious disease continues to be a major threat, especially in countries where clean water, immunization,
and antibiotics are not always available or properly used. This graph clearly shows how devastating a world-
wide pandemic, like the influenza of 1918-1919, can be.
01:16 We’ve mentioned some of the microorganisms before; let’s now be a little systematic about them. We’ll
go from big to small. The biggest are parasites, including multicellular creatures such as worms and insects
which not only carry disease, like lice do, but can cause them, like ticks; to single-cell protozoans like the
Plasmodium that causes malaria, or the amoebas that cause a variety of intestinal infections.
01:45 After that come the fungi and yeasts, which are smaller than most protozoans but also have proper nuclei,
so they are eukaryotes just like us. Yeast infections of the mucous membranes are very common in infants and
adults. Fungi usually infect the skin but cause serious disease if widely distributed internally. Created for Mini
Medical School by JJ Cohen 2016 Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License 2
02:07 You may remember our ancestors the bacteria-like archaea; fortunately, none of them seems to be a
pathogen. The bacteria are another story. Although only a few hundred of the millions of species are pathogens,
30
they do cause some very serious diseases, including pneumonia, tetanus, cholera, typhoid fever, diphtheria,
tuberculosis, leprosy, and plague.
02:33 Viruses, as we’ve noted before, are not actually alive; they must get into cells and take over the cell’s
machinery for making nucleic acids and proteins. Some viruses can insert their genetic material into our
genomes, stay there for a while, and then leave in an infectious burst. Some don’t leave: about 8% of the human
genome is clearly derived from old virus insertions.
03:00 Finally, perhaps the oddest pathogens: infectious proteins called prions. These are the causative agents of
mad cow disease and the human equivalent, variant Creutzfeldt - Jakob disease, as well as similar conditions like
scrapie in sheep. These proteins are misfolded, become extremely insoluble, and are laid down in the brain as
tangles and plaques, which kill the adjacent cells.
This animation suggests what the misfolded prions may do: by contact, they make normal examples of the same
protein misfold, building up the insoluble plaque. A lot of research is directed towards preventing or reversing
this process, which may play an important role in other degenerative brain conditions such as Alzheimer and
Parkinson diseases
Source: CU Mini Medical School
31

UNIT 2 Symptoms and Illnesses N (8) (2) Bueno

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UNIT 2 Symptoms and Illnesses N (8) (2) Bueno

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UNIT 2.

Illnesses and symptoms

Due date: April 27th 2016

1. Many things affect how we feel pain. T/F

2. Many people feel no pain. T/F

3. Pain can be a good thing. T/F

6. If you’re under hypnosis during an operation, you can’t talk. T/F

1. a medicine that makes pain less (noun) __painkiller________

2. something that is found, or something new that is learned (noun) ___discovery_____

3. probably going to be very good (adj) ___promising______

4. not happening very often (adj) ___rare_____

6. not sleeping (adj) ___awake_____

7. to make pain less (verb) ___relieve_____

8. to think that something is true (verb) ___believe____

Talking about symptoms

E.g. I’ve got a bad stomachache

 For the remaining parts of the body you say:

 I’ve got a pain in my leg.

The verbs to hurt and to ache can also be used:

We can also use the adjective sore.

 When talking about a pain, the preposition in is used:

 He has a severe pain in his right thigh.

 He has a cut on his forehead.

 The intensity of pain is usually described as mild, moderate or severe.

 The frequency of pain can be described as occasional, frequent and constant.

4. Match the aspects of pain in column A to the corresponding questions on column B.

2. Duration b. Have you had it before?

3. Location c. Can you show me where you get the pain?

4. Radiation d. When did it start?

5. Type of pain e. Does anything make it worse?

7. Aggravating factors g. Does it spread anywhere else?

8. Previous episodes h. How long have you had the pain?

9. Medication i. Does anything make it better?

10. Frequency j. How often do you get the pain?

The digestive system The respiratory system The cardiovascular system

The nervous system The urinary system

2. lungs b. to digest food

a. The respiratory system

lungs diaphragm windpipe ribs bronchi

b. The cardiovascular system

tissues lungs vital arteries veins heart

c. The nervous system

cerebellum spinal cord cerebral cortex cerebrum brain stem

8. The l. ___cerebrum_______, m. ___cerebellum_____ and n. _____brain stem___ are the 3

d. The digestive system

stomach oesophagus lining wall small

14. An ulcer can completely erode the stomach v._____wall________.

epidermis dermis skin hypodermis sebaceous glands

15. The body’s largest organ is the w.____skin_______.

16. The top layer of skin is known as x._____epidermis_________ .

Source: Merriam Webster Online Dictionary

9. Talking about symptoms

numbness loss of feeling or sensation

1. How can we get infected with the flu virus?

2. What are the symptoms of flu?

3. What is the meaning of ILI?

ILI stands for Influenza-like Illness

4. How do doctors confirm the diagnosis for the influenza virus?

4. When it reaches the lungs we can get a g. ______cough_________.

2. What is the doctor´s advice to treat the common cold?

3. What is the doctor´s advice to treat the flu?

5. When are antiviral treatments recommended?

6. Who is at a higher risk of suffering the complications of the flu?

1. a medicine that makes pain less (noun) painkiller______

2. something that is found, or something new that is learned (noun) _discovery___

3. probably going to be very good (adj) _promising____

4. not happening very often (adj) _rare___

6. not sleeping (adj) _awake___

7. to make pain less (verb) _relieve___

8. to think that something is true (verb) _believe__

8. The l. _cerebrum___, m. _cerebellum___ and n. _brain stem_ are the 3

14. An ulcer can completely erode the stomach v._wall____.

15. The body’s largest organ is the w.skin___.

16. The top layer of skin is known as x._epidermis_____ .

4. When it reaches the lungs we can get a g. cough___.