| Term | Definition |
|---|
| chronic disease | a noncommunicable self limiting disease from which the individual rarely recovers, even though the symptoms of the disease can often be alleviated. |
| dysfunction | an event that lessens the adjustment of a social system. dysfunctional features of a society imply strain or stress or tension. a dysfunction of modern medicine might be that it prolongs life, contributing to an overcrowded population, and also contributes to a frail and disabling existence for many in their old age |
| eufunction | consequences of behavior that are positive. for example, a euphunction of attending a funeral is that it shows concern and care for the survivors |
| gerontophobia | the fear of growing old |
| latent function | are consequences that contribute to adjustment but were not intended. for example a --------------- of attending a funeral is that it becomes a family reunion |
| life expectancy | the number of years that the average newborn in a particular population can expect to live |
| manifest function | objective consequences that contribute to adjustment and were so intended. they are the official explanation of a given action |
| morbidity | the rate of occurence of a disease |
| mortality rate | the number of deaths per 1,000 population |
| sex ratio | the number of males per 100 females |
| symbol | anything to which socially created meaning is given |
| thanatology | the study of death-related behavior including actions and emotions concerned with dying, death, and bereavement |
| brain death | the brain is totally and irreversibly dead. this is sometimes referred to as the Harvard definition of death |
| cryonics | a method of subjecting a corpse to extremely low temperatures through the use of dry ice and liquid nitrogen |
| cohort | persons of a similar age group |
| death anxiety | a learned emotional response to death-related phenomena characterized by extreme apprehension; used synonymously with death fear |
| dyad | two units regarded as a pair (a husband and a wife) |
| euphemism | a word or phrase that is considered less distasteful than other words or phrases |
| mores | ways of society that are felt to be for the good of society. these are must behaviors that have stronger sanctions that a folkway but that are not as severe as laws |
| obituary | notice of a death, usually with a brief biography |
| significant other | a person to whom special significance is given in the process of reaching decisions |
| adolescence | stage of life commonly defined as the onset of puberty when sexual maturity or the ability to reproduce is attained |
| cognitive development | development of processes of knowing, including imagining, perceiving, reasoning, and problem solving |
| ritual | the symbolic affirmation of values by means of culturally standardized utterances and actions |
| senescence | erik erikson's last stage of the life cycle. the task is to achieve integrity, a conviction that one's life has meaning and purpose and that having lived has made a difference |
| anomie | a condition characterized by the relative absense or confusion of values within a group or society |
| religion | system of beliefs and practices related to the sacred, the supernatural, and/or a set of values to which the individual is very committed |
| rituals | a set of culturally prescribed actions or behaviors |
| anticipatory grief | experiencing grief before a death actually occurs; griefwork aimed at loosening attachment to the dying, making loss less painful when it occurs |
| appropriate death | a person dying as he or she wished to die. the death is generally consistent which past personality patterns |
| cadaver | a dead body |
| dying trajectory | perception about the course that dying will take |
| good death | an appropriate death at a particular time and place |
| master status | the status (position) most important in establishing an individuals social identity |
| norm | a plan of action or expected behavior pattern thought to be appropriate for a particular situation |
| role | specified behavior expectations for persons occupying specific social positions |
| scapegoat | a person, group, or object upon whom blame is placed for the mistakes of others |
| sick role | a set of characteristic behaviors that a sick person adopts in accordance with the normative demands of the situation |
| societal disengagement | a process whereby society withdraws from or no longer seeks the individual's efforts |
| aids | acronym for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome |
| cancer | refers to a group of diseases that are characterized by an uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells |
| chemotherapy | threatment of cancer with certain chemicals that attack and destroy certain types of cancer cells |
| faith healing | uses the power of suggestion, prayer, and faith in God to promote healing |
| folk healing | primarily uses "folk remedies" passed down orally from generation to generation and common ingredients found with a particular group of people to treat illness |
| hiv | acronym for human immunodeficiency virus |
| hospice | a specialized health-care program that serves patients with life-threatening illnesses, such as cancer, during the last days of their lives |
| metastases | the spread and invasion of cancer cells to other organs or tissues |
| radiation therapy | treatment using x-rays to destroy cancerous tissue |
| medicaid | a federal and state program that uses general revenues to fund health care for the poor |
| medicare | a federal program of health insurance for person 65 years of age and older |
| normalization of dying | maintaining roles, relationships, and identity, though dying |
| active euthanasia | a direct action that causes death in accordance with the stated or implied wishes of the terminally ill patient |
| cpr | cardiopulmonary resuscitation-the act of using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions to try to restore one's breathing |
| dnr | an order required by some hospitals for heroic care or other resuscitative measures to be withheld |
| doa | a classification given to a patient upon arrival at the emergency room if the physician delares the patient dead |
| emt | emergency medical technicians |
| euthanasia | literally, a "good death" |
| intubation | a medical procedure whereby the patient is fed through a tube placed in the stomach |
| living will | a document stating that one does not want medical intervention if the technology or treatment that keeps one alive cannot offer a reasonable quality of life or hope of recovery |
| quality of life | the perspective that when life no longer has quality, death is preferable to living a life devoid of meaning |
| passive euthanasia | the withholding of treatment, which, in essence hastens death and allows the individual to die "naturally" |
| sanctity of life | the perspective that all natural life has intrinsic meaning and should be appreciated as a divine gift |
| self-deliverance | a rational and voluntary act of taking one's life; an alternative to the terms suicide and mercy killing |
| triage | a system of assigning priorities of medical treatment |
| bier | a framework upon which the corpse and/or casket is placed for viewing and/or carrying |
| columbarium | a building or wall for above-ground accommodation of cremated remains |
| cremains | that which is left after cremation |
| cremation | the reduction of a human body by means of heat or direct flame |
| crematory | an establishment in which cremation takes place |
| disposition | final placement or disposal of a dead person |
| embalming | a process that temporarily preserves a deceased person by means of displacing body fluids with preserving chemicals |
| entombment | opening and closing of a crypt including placing and sealing of a casket within |
| exhume | to remove a corpse from its place of burial |
| mausoleum | a building or wall for above-ground accommodation of a casket |
| mummification | the process of wrapping the body with cloth before its final disposition |
| niche | a chamber in a columbarium in which an urn is placed |
| pyre | a combustible pile (usually of wood) for burning a corpse at a funeral rite |
| urn | a container for cremated remains |
| elegy | a song or poem expressing sorrow, especially for one who is dead |
| epitaph | an inscription, often on a gravestone, in memory of a deceased person |
| memento mori | any reminder of death |
| obituary | notice of a death, usually with a brief biography |
| sexton | a church custodian charged with the upkeep of the church and parish buildings and grounds |
| vault or grave liner | a concrete or metal container into which a casket or urn is placed for ground burial. its function is to prevent the ground from settling |
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