Section 3: Anatomy/Diagnosis

Section Overview

In this section, you will have access to a summarized and concise overview of basic human anatomy/structures and an introduction to the steps that medical professionals take to conduct and confirm a patient's diagnosis.

Basic Human Anatomy

Human Anatomy describes the structure and location of the different components of an organism to provide a framework for understanding. Human anatomy studies the way that every part of a human, from molecules to bones, interacts to form a functional whole.

Below you will find an introduction video that provides information about human anatomy and the different systems in our body that allow for our body to conduct complex processes.

Medical Diagnosis

The process of formulating a diagnosis is called clinical decision-making. The clinician uses the information gathered from the medical history and physical and mental examinations to develop a list of possible causes of the disorder, called the differential diagnosis. The clinician then decides what tests to order to help refine the list or identify the specific disease responsible for the patient’s complaints. Below you will find two videos about how physicians make a medical diagnosis.

Most Common Medical Diagnoses and Corresponding Symptoms

Hypertension: Hypertension is another name for high blood pressure. It can lead to severe health complications and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and sometimes death. Blood pressure is the force that a person's blood exerts against the walls of their blood vessels.

Symptoms:

If your blood pressure is extremely high, there may be certain symptoms to look out for, like Severe headaches, Nosebleed, Fatigue or confusion, Vision problems, Chest pain.

Difficulty breathing, Irregular heartbeat, Blood in the urine, Diabetes, Anxiety, Acute laryngopharyngitis, Asthma, Urinary tract infection

Diagnosis Confirmation Tests: Ambulatory monitoring. This 24-hour blood pressure monitoring test is used to confirm if you have high blood pressure, Lab tests your doctor may recommend a urine test (urinalysis) and blood tests, including a cholesterol test to confirm high blood pressure.

Diabetes: A group of diseases that result in too much sugar in the blood (high blood glucose). You can develop type 1(A chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin) or type 2 diabetes (A chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar (glucose).

Symptoms: Excessive thirst or urination, fatigue, weight loss, or blurred vision.

Diagnosis Confirmation: Doctors may perform various tests to confirm their diabetes diagnosis alongside analyzing family medical history. These tests include, fasting plasma glucose test, oral glucose tolerance test, A1C test (a blood test that provides information about your average levels of blood glucose).

Anxiety: A mental health disorder characterized by feelings of worry, anxiety, or fear that are strong enough to interfere with one's daily activities

Symptoms: Feeling nervous, having a sense of impending danger, having an increased heart rate, breathing rapidly (hyperventilation), sweating, trembling, feeling weak or tired, trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other than the present worry.

Diagnosis Confirmation: Doctors confirm their anxiety diagnosis by conducting a physical exam, reviewing your medication history, personal activities, and through mental evaluations conducted by a psychiatrist, psychologist, or licensed clinical social worker.