Pathology definition series#

These phenotypic (measurable characteristic) abnormalities reflect the interaction of the genotype (cytogenetic and nucleic acid sequence/expression) of the patient and his/her environment. The presentation of a disease to a clinician is in the form of a human patient with variably specific complaints (symptoms), to which the examining physicians can add diagnostic sensitivity and specificity by making observations (screening for signs of diseases). Pathogenesis can refer to the changes in the structure or function of an organism at the gross/clinical level, and it can refer to the stepwise molecular abnormalities leading to changes in cellular and tissue function. This stepwise process of disease development is referred to as its pathogenesis (from the Greek word meaning generation of suffering).

Pathology definition series#

Each disease entity develops through a series of mechanistic chemical and cellular steps.

One disease entity can have more than one etiology, and one etiology can lead to more than one disease. The cause of the disease is referred to as its etiology (from the Greek word meaning the study of cause). Disease refers to a definable deviation from a normal phenotype (observable characteristics due to genome and environment), evident via patient complaints (symptoms), and/or the measurements of a careful observer (signs). Pathology (from the Greek word pathología, meaning the study of suffering) refers to the specialty of medical science concerned with the cause, development, structural/functional changes, and natural history associated with diseases.