Basics of pathophysiology
Pathophysiology, due to its interdisciplinary nature, plays the role of a "bridge" between the fundamental disciplines and the clinic. This textbook is intended for students of the third year of the medical specialty. It was prepared by a team of authors and editors, formed by consensus of pathophysiology professors from medical universities in the country.
In assigning the development of the individual chapters to the corresponding authors, the editors of the textbook were guided by their teaching experience and by their special qualifications in various fields of pathophysiology. When editing the final text of the textbook, the aim of the editors was, on the one hand, to comply with modern trends and achievements in the research of the mechanisms of pathological processes and diseases, and on the other hand, to preserve the individual approach and presentation style of the authors. The sections "General pathophysiology" and "Main types of pathological processes" were edited by A. Stoynev, and "Special pathophysiology" - by D. Iluchev.
One of the main principles in the preparation of the textbook was the requirement that the texts of the chapters should not include systematic expositions of normal anatomy and physiology, biophysics and biochemistry, or of clinical pictures. If such information is needed, the reader should refer to the relevant specialized textbook. Exceptions were made only in individual cases in which it was absolutely necessary to draw a parallel for a better explanation or illustration of disturbed mechanisms of regulation, by presenting the necessary minimum of specific physiological, anatomical, biochemical, etc. information.
To the section "Special pathophysiology" in addition to the general etiology and pathogenesis of organ damage and manifestations of organ insufficiency, the causes and mechanisms of socially significant diseases in humans are examined.
In preparing the texts, in addition to the available textbook on pathophysiology in Bulgarian (Pathologic Physiology 1999, ed. R. Lolov and D. Mitkov), the authors used as sources modern editions of established foreign teaching aids, examining mechanisms of pathological processes and diseases, cited below. They could be used for additional independent training, incl. for the freely-chosen modules offered by the Pathophysiology Departments.
