医学专业英语 阅读一分册 第二章

Human DiseasesThe brief survey of the human body in Chapter One has given us a glimpse into two different studies that are considered the fundamentals of medical sciences, namely anatomy and physiology. However, the picture is not complete without considering pathology, the science that deals with the structural and functional changes produced by the disease. In fact, the modern approach to the study of disorder emphasizes the close relationship of the pathological and physiological aspects and the need to understand the fundamentals of each in treating any body diseases.第一章中，通过对人体的概论，即解剖学与生理学，我们对两种被认为是医学基础的不同学科有了一个大致的印象。

然而如果我们不考虑病理学，这门涉及由疾病带来的结构和功能变化的学科，上述的人体概论就不是完整的。

实际上，现代对疾病的研究方法强调了病理学与生理学方面的密切关系，强调了我们在治疗任何人体疾病方面需要了解病理学与生理学基础的重要性。

Then what is a disease? It may be defined as a condition that impairs the proper function of the body or of one of its parts. Every living thing, both plants and animals, can succumb to disease. People, for example, are often infected by tiny bacteria, but bacteria, in turn, can be infected by even more minute viruses.那么什么是疾病呢？它可能被定义为正常的功能或是部分功能遭受损害时的一种状态。

每一种生物、植物和动物，都会受制于疾病。

例如，人类常常被微小的细菌所感染，但是，反过来说，细菌又能够被甚至更加微小的病毒所感染。

Hundreds of different diseases exist. Each has its own particular set of symptoms and signs, clues that enable a physician to diagnose the problem. A symptom is something a patient can detect, such as fever, bleeding, or pain. A sign is something a doctor can detect, such as a swollen blood vessel or an enlarged internal body organ.许多种疾病存在于世。

每一种都有其特定的症状、征兆和线索，医生能以此诊断疾病之所在。

症状是病人自己就能觉察到的，比如，高烧、流血，或是疼痛。

而征兆则是医生能够观察到的，比如，血管扩张或是体内器官肿大。

Diseases can be classified differently. For instance, an epidemic disease is one that strikes many persons in a community. When it strikes the same region year after year it is an endemic disease. An acute disease has a quick onset and runs a short course. An acute heart attack, for example, often hits without warning and can be quickly fatal. A chronic disease has a slow onset and runs a sometimes years-long course. The gradual onset and long course of rheumatic fever makes it a chronic ailment. Between the acute and chronic, another type is called subacute.疾病可以划分为不同的种类，例如，流行病是一种在某一社区内侵袭许多人的疾病。

当它年复一年地袭击同一社区，就成了一种地方病。

急性病发作快，但病程短，举个例子来说，急性心脏病发作常常没有前兆，而且会很快致命。

慢性病发作则慢，但病程有时会长达几年之久。

风湿热正是由于发病慢、病程长而成为一种慢性失调病（慢性病）。

而介于急性与慢性之间的另一种类型，就被称为亚急性。

Diseases can also be classified by their causative agents. For instance, an infectious, or communicable, disease is the one that can be passed between persons such as by means ofairborne droplets from a cough or sneeze. Tiny organisms such as bacteria and fungi can produce infectious diseases. So can viruses. So can tiny worms. Whatever the causative agent might be, it survives in the person it infects and is passed on to another. Sometimes, a disease-producing organism gets into a person who shows no symptoms of the disease. The asymptomatic carrier can then pass the disease on to someone else without even knowing he has it.疾病也可以依其病原体来划分，例如，传染病也叫作可传播的疾病，就是一种通过咳嗽和打喷嚏造成的空气小粒来传播的疾病。

极小的有机体，如，细菌和真菌可导致传染病。

病毒和小虫子也不例外。

不论病原体会是什么样，只要它存活于人体内就能够传染给别人。

有时，一个致病的有机体侵人人体后，该人却没有显示带病的症状。

于是无症状的病原携带者甚至在自己也不知情的情况下就把疾病传染给了他人。

Noninfectious diseases are caused by malfunctions of the body. These include organ or tissue degeneration, erratic cell growth, and faulty blood formation and flow. Also included are disturbances of the stomach and intestine, the endocrine system, and the urinary and reproductive systems. Some diseases can be caused by diet deficiencies, lapses in the body's defense system, or a poorly operating nervous system.非传染性疾病是由身体功能失调引起的。

这包括血管或组织退化、异常细胞生成，以及异常的血液生成和血液循环。

当然其中也包括胃、肠、内分泌系统和泌尿生殖系统的紊乱。

一些疾病也可能是由饮食不足、身体抵抗力下降、或是神经系统工作不造成的。

Disability and illnesses can also be provoked by psychological and social factors. These ailments include drug addiction, obesity, malnutrition, and pollution-caused health problems.心理因素和社会因素也会引发残废和疾病，这些病包括吸毒成性、肥胖、营养不良和由污染造成的健康问题。

Furthermore, a thousand or more inheritable birth defects result from alternations in gene patterns. Since tiny genes are responsible for producing the many chemicals needed by the body, missing or improperly operating genes can seriously impair health. Genetic disorders that affect body chemistry are called inborn errors of metabolism. Some forms of mental retardation are hereditary.而且，有上千种乃至为数更多的遗传性出生缺陷是由于基因变化而造成的。

由于小小的基因负责着生产许多身体所需的化学物质，它的遗失或是工作状态不良都会严重损害健康。

因基因失调而被影响了的身体化学反应被称之为先天性代谢失调。