Circulatory system, blood and renal excretion

In VCM, blood vessels are represented schematically by two horizontal lines. Disorders of the circulatory system are shown in a red square with two lines on the right, symbolizing the blood vessel supplying the organ:

Icon	Examples
Circulatory system disorder	Coronary disease (vascular disease in the heart)
	Cerebrovascular disease (vascular disease of the CNS)

Blood pressure-related disorders are represented by adding a double arrow in the blood vessel, symbolizing the pressure:

Icon	Examples
Blood pressure-related disorders	Hypertension (increased pressure)
	Intracranial hypertension

Elements in the blood are shown between the two horizontal lines. For blood cells, a white hollow circle represents red blood cells, a solid white circle represents white blood cells, and a rectangle represents platelets. In addition, the pictogram for white blood cells is also used for immunity, and the one for platelets, for clotting.

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Icons	Examples
Blood disorder
Red blood cell disorder	Malaria (parasitic infection of red blood cells)
	Anemia (reduction of red blood cells)
Immune system disorder	Leukemia
	Immune deficiency (including neutropenia, agranulocytosis)
Coagulation or platelet disorder	Hemophilia, thrombocytopenia
	Coagulation monitoring (INR,...)
Bone marrow disorder	Tumor of the bone marrow
Spleen disorder

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The substances circulating in the blood are represented similarly:

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Icons	Examples
Glycemia	Hypoglycemia
	Glycemia monitoring
Lipidemia	Dyslipidemia
Electrolyte disturbances	Natremia disorder
	Hyperkaliemia
	Iron monitoring
Plasma concentration of a drug’s active agent	Monitoring of the plasma concentration of a drug’s active agent

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Renal excretion is represented by a small kidney with the elements or products excreted shown exiting:

Hematuria	Leukocyturia
Renal excretion disorder	Drug renal excretion

Central nervous system, brain function, psychology and behavior

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Icons	Examples
Spinal cord
Brain
Degenerative brain disease
Cerebral activity	Epilepsy
	Electro-encephalogram (EEG)
Parkinson syndrome, extrapyramidal disorders
Cerebral functions	Coma
Sensory functions
Motor functions	Paralysis, paraplegia,...
Behavior, psychology
Mood	Depression
	manic disorders
Asthenia
Anxiety
Vertigo
Feeding behavior	Anorexia nervosa
Sexual behavior
Language, communication	Language disorder

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Using several shape modifiers

Several shape modifiers can be used together to represent certain disorders, for example:

Hypertension	Intracranial hypertension
Vascularitis	Nevritis
Tumor pain	Drug addiction
Allergic edema

Exercise 1

What do the following icons mean?

(1) Answer: Submit

(2) Answer: Submit

(3) Answer: Submit

(4) Answer: Submit

(5) Answer: Submit

(6) Answer: Submit

(7) Answer: Submit

(8) Answer: Submit

Exercise 2

The following text describes the properties of a hypothetical antihypertensive treatment:

This drug is strictly contraindicated for patients with heart failure.

This drug should not be prescribed for patients with unstable angina.

This medicine should not be associated with mefloquine.

This medicine should not be associated with anti-vitamin K.

When taking this medication, it is advised to monitor blood pressure regularly and conduct ECG investigations every two years.

For elderly patients, it is recommended to reduce the dose.

For patients with renal insufficiency, it is recommended to reduce the dose.

In cases of gastrointestinal bleeding, the treatment should immediately be stopped.

Answer the questions about the following clinical cases:

Case #1: Mr. X is 73 years old, he is being treated for colon cancer, and by dietary measures for type II diabetes. He also has hypertension. Can you prescribe him the anti-hypertensive drug whose properties are summarized in the text above?

(9-a) Yes Wrong answer!

(9-b) Yes with a dose reduction Wrong answer!

(9-c) Yes with adapted monitoring Wrong answer!

(9-d) Yes with both a dose reduction and adapted monitoring Right answer!

(9-e) No Wrong answer!

Case #2: Ms. Y is 42 years old. He takes mefloquine regularly when traveling for professional reasons. His blood pressure is abnormal. Can you prescribe the anti-hypertensive drug whose properties are summarized in the text above?

(10-a) Yes Wrong answer!

(10-b) Yes with a dose reduction Wrong answer!

(10-c) Yes with adapted monitoring Wrong answer!

(10-d) Yes with both a dose reduction and adapted monitoring Wrong answer!

(10-e) No Right answer!