| atherosclerosis | a pathological condition in which fatty substances collect inside the lumen of arteries.
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| degenerative diseases | diseases not due to infection that result in a progressive decline in some bodily function.
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| epidemiologic triad | a model that shows connections between the environment, agent, and host that cause disease.
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| epidemiology | the study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states or events in specified populations, and the application of this study to the control of health problems.
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| infectious diseases | diseases due to the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the body (e.g., viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa).
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| primary risk factor | a sign (e.g., high blood pressure) or a behavior (e.g., cigarette smoking) that is directly related to the appearance of certain diseases independent of other risk factors.
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| secondary risk factor | a characteristic (age, gender, race, body fatness) or behavior that increases the risk of coronary heart disease when primary risk factors are present.
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| web of causation | an epidemiologic model showing the complex interaction of risk factors associated with the development of chronic degenerative diseases.
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