Pathophysiology week 1 Discussion

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Scenario: 

An 83-year-old resident of a skilled nursing facility presents to the emergency department with generalized edema of extremities and abdomen. History obtained from staff reveals the patient has a history of malabsorption syndrome and difficulty eating due to a lack of dentures. The patient has been diagnosed with protein malnutrition.

The role genetics plays in the disease.

  • Why the patient is presenting with the specific symptoms described.
  • The physiologic response to the stimulus presented in the scenario and why you think this response occurred.
  • The cells that are involved in this process.
  • How another characteristic (e.g., gender, genetics) would change your response.

What might be a characteristic influencing your response?

The scenario reflects this to be an unidentified race, so if this patient was African American would this create characteristics influenced by race? It may or may not just support your point with a citation. 

In this elderly female, there are several contributing factors for her presenting with these symptoms.

If you do not find any genetic factors contributing, provide a citation supporting this. As a student, be sure to support your points until you become the expert.