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pathology

Pathology is the medical term for the way a disease works. A tumor is removed by a doctor trained in surgery, but you need a doctor trained in pathology to tell you if the tumor is cancer.

Pathology derives from the Greek pathos "suffering" and ology "study of"––to give us "the study of disease," but often pathology means the disease's behavior––the cancer pathology is to take over healthy cells and grow cancerous tumors. We also use pathology to describe abnormal conditions that aren’t really diseases, like the pathology of Hollywood stars who live their lives in public and become obsessed with fitness.

DEFINITIONS OF: pathology

n the branch of medical science that studies the causes and nature and effects of diseases

Types:: palaeopathology, paleopathology
the study of disease of former times (as inferred from fossil evidence)

Type of:: medical science
the science of dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of disease

n any deviation from a healthy or normal condition

Types:: show 119 types...; hide 119 types...; acidosis
abnormally high acidity (excess hydrogen-ion concentration) of the blood and other body tissues; alkalosis
abnormally high alkalinity (low hydrogen-ion concentration) of the blood and other body tissues; anchylosis, ankylosis
abnormal adhesion and rigidity of the bones of a joint; arteriectasia, arteriectasis
an abnormal distension of an artery; arthropathy
a pathology or abnormality of a joint; asynergia, asynergy
absence of coordination of organs or body parts that usually work together harmoniously; asystole, cardiac arrest, cardiopulmonary arrest
absence of systole; failure of the ventricles of the heart to contract (usually caused by ventricular fibrillation) with consequent absence of the heart beat leading to oxygen lack and eventually to death; diverticulosis
presence of multiple diverticula in the walls of the colon; flux
excessive discharge of liquid from a cavity or organ (as in watery diarrhea); fluorosis
a pathological condition resulting from an excessive intake of fluorine (usually from drinking water); gammopathy
a disturbance in the synthesis of immunoglobulins; proteins having antibody activity increase greatly in the blood; glossolalia
repetitive nonmeaningful speech (especially that associated with a trance state or religious fervor); angiopathy
any disease of the blood vessels or lymph ducts; aphagia
loss of the ability to swallow; stenosis, stricture
abnormal narrowing of a bodily canal or passageway; atherogenesis
the formation of atheromas on the walls of the arteries as in atherosclerosis; ascites
accumulation of serous fluid in peritoneal cavity; azymia
absence of an enzyme; bacteremia, bacteriaemia, bacteriemia
transient presence of bacteria (or other microorganisms) in the blood; induration, sclerosis
any pathological hardening or thickening of tissue; lipomatosis
pathology in which fat accumulates in lipomas in the body; lithiasis
the formation of stones (calculi) in an internal organ; cartilaginification
abnormal formation of cartilage from other tissues; observed in some Asians; cyst
a closed sac that develops abnormally in some body structure; adenomyosis, endometriosis
the presence of endometrium elsewhere than in the lining of the uterus; causes premenstrual pain and dysmenorrhea; adhesion
abnormal union of bodily tissues; most common in the abdomen; bronzed diabetes, hemochromatosis, iron overload, iron-storage disease
pathology in which iron accumulates in the tissues; characterized by bronzed skin and enlarged liver and diabetes mellitus and abnormalities of the pancreas and the joints; infarct, infarction
localized necrosis resulting from obstruction of the blood supply; macrocytosis
the presence of macrocytes in the blood; fibrosis
development of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ; malacia
a state of abnormal softening of tissue; mastopathy, mazopathy
any pathology of the breast; neuropathy
any pathology of the peripheral nerves; myopathy
any pathology of the muscles that is not attributable to nerve dysfunction; osteoporosis
abnormal loss of bony tissue resulting in fragile porous bones attributable to a lack of calcium; most common in postmenopausal women; priapism
condition in which the penis is continually erect; usually painful and seldom with sexual arousal; demineralisation, demineralization
abnormal loss of mineral salts (especially from bone); pyorrhea, pyorrhoea
discharge of pus; azotaemia, azotemia, uraemia, uremia
accumulation in the blood of nitrogenous waste products (urea) that are usually excreted in the urine; azoturia
excess of urea in the urine; lesion
any localized abnormal structural change in a bodily part; lymphadenopathy
chronic abnormal enlargement of the lymph nodes (usually associated with disease); gangrene, slough, sphacelus
necrotic tissue; a mortified or gangrenous part or mass; hyperbilirubinemia
abnormally high amounts of bile pigment (bilirubin) in the blood; palilalia
a pathological condition in which a word is rapidly and involuntarily repeated; reflux
an abnormal backward flow of body fluids; otorrhea
discharge from the external ear; rhinopathy
any disease or malformation of the nose; hydronephrosis
accumulation of urine in the kidney because of an obstruction in the ureter; atelectasis
collapse of an expanded lung (especially in infants); also failure of pulmonary alveoli to expand at birth; anoxemia
abnormally low oxygen content in arterial blood; coprolalia
an uncontrollable use of obscene language; often accompanied by mental disorders; autoimmunity
production of antibodies against the tissues of your own body; produces autoimmune disease or hypersensitivity reactions; disfunction, dysfunction
(medicine) any disturbance in the functioning of an organ or body part or a disturbance in the functioning of a social group; sarcoidosis
a chronic disease of unknown cause marked by the formation of nodules in the lungs and liver and lymph glands and salivary glands; carotenemia, xanthemia
excess carotene in the blood stream; can cause the skin to turn a pale yellow or red color; stasis
an abnormal state in which the normal flow of a liquid (such as blood) is slowed or stopped; uropathy
any pathology of the urinary tract; varicosis
pathological condition of being varicose or having varicose veins; viraemia, viremia
the presence of a virus in the blood stream; volvulus
abnormal twisting of the intestines (usually in the area of the ileum or sigmoid colon) resulting in intestinal obstruction; diabetic acidosis, ketoacidosis
acidosis with an accumulation of ketone bodies; occurs primarily in diabetes mellitus; metabolic acidosis
acidosis and bicarbonate concentration in the body fluids resulting either from the accumulation of acids or the abnormal loss of bases from the body (as in diarrhea or renal disease); carbon dioxide acidosis, respiratory acidosis
acidosis resulting from reduced gas exchange in the lungs (as in emphysema or pneumonia); excess carbon dioxide combines with water to form carbonic acid which increases the acidity of the blood; starvation acidosis
acidosis in which the acidity results from lack of food which leads to fat catabolism which in turn releases acidic ketone bodies; metabolic alkalosis
alkalosis resulting from hydrogen-ion loss or excessive intake of alkaline substances; respiratory alkalosis
alkalosis resulting from increased gas exchange in the lungs (as in hyperventilation associated with extreme anxiety or aspirin intoxication or metabolic acidosis); ED, erectile dysfunction, male erecticle dysfunction
impotence resulting from a man's inability to have or maintain an erection of his penis; MS, disseminated multiple sclerosis, disseminated sclerosis, multiple sclerosis
a chronic progressive nervous disorder involving loss of myelin sheath around certain nerve fibers; ALS, Lou Gehrig's disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
thickening of tissue in the motor tracts of the lateral columns and anterior horns of the spinal cord; results in progressive muscle atrophy that starts in the limbs; aortic stenosis
abnormal narrowing of the aortic valve; enterostenosis
abnormal narrowing of the intestine; laryngostenosis
abnormal narrowing of the larynx; pulmonary stenosis
abnormal narrowing of the opening into the pulmonary artery from the right ventricle; pyloric stenosis
narrowing of the pyloric sphincter that blocks the passage of food from the stomach into the duodenum; rhinostenosis
narrowing of the passages in the nasal cavities; arteriolosclerosis
sclerosis of the arterioles; arterial sclerosis, arteriosclerosis, coronary-artery disease, hardening of the arteries, induration of the arteries
sclerosis of the arterial walls; mitral stenosis, mitral valve stenosis
obstruction or narrowing of the mitral valve (as by scarring from rheumatic fever); MI, myocardial infarct, myocardial infarction
destruction of heart tissue resulting from obstruction of the blood supply to the heart muscle; kidney disease, nephropathy, nephrosis, renal disorder
a disease affecting the kidneys; cholelithiasis
the presence of gallstones in the gallbladder; enterolithiasis
the presence of calculi in the intestines; nephrolithiasis, renal lithiasis
the presence of kidney stones (calculi) in the kidney; CF, cystic fibrosis, fibrocystic disease of the pancreas, mucoviscidosis, pancreatic fibrosis
the most common congenital disease; the child's lungs and intestines and pancreas become clogged with thick mucus; caused by defect in a single gene; no cure is known; osteosclerosis
abnormal hardening or eburnation of bone; dermoid cyst
a cystic tumor (usually benign) with a wall lined with epithelium and a cavity containing other material; galactocele
a cystic tumor containing milk or a milky substance (especially in the mammary glands); blood cyst, hematocyst, hemorrhagic cyst
a cyst containing blood; hydatid
cyst filled with liquid; forms as a result of infestation by tapeworm larvae (as in echinococcosis); nabothian cyst, nabothian follicle
a cyst that forms in the nabothian glands of the uterine cervix; ovarian cyst
a cystic tumor (usually benign) of the ovary; ranula
a cyst on the underside of the tongue; pilar cyst, sebaceous cyst, steatocystoma, wen
a common cyst of the skin; filled with fatty matter (sebum) that is secreted by a sebaceous gland that has been blocked; symphysis
an abnormal adhesion of two or more structures; synechia
adhesions between the iris and the lens or cornea resulting from trauma or eye surgery or as a complication of glaucoma or cataract; can lead to blindness; classic hemochromatosis, idiopathic hemochromatosis
inherited form of hemochromatosis; acquired hemochromatosis
hemochromatosis resulting from repeated transfusions or from excessive intake of foods containing iron; myelofibrosis
fibrosis of the bone marrow; osteomalacia
abnormal softening of bones caused by deficiencies of phosphorus or calcium or vitamin D; Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease, hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy
a form of neuropathy that can begin between childhood and young adulthood; characterized by weakness and atrophy of the muscles of the hands and lower legs; progression is slow and individuals affected can have a normal life span; inheritance is X-linked recessive or X-linked dominant; mononeuropathy
any neuropathy of a single nerve trunk; multiple mononeuropathy
pathology of several individual nerve trunks; tubercle
a swelling that is the characteristic lesion of tuberculosis; ulcer, ulceration
a circumscribed inflammatory and often suppurating lesion on the skin or an internal mucous surface resulting in necrosis of tissue; angioma
a tumor consisting of a mass of blood or lymphatic vessels; angiitis
inflammation of a blood vessel or lymph duct; cold gangrene, dry gangrene, mumification necrosis, mummification
(pathology) gangrene that develops in the presence of arterial obstruction and is characterized by dryness of the dead tissue and a dark brown color; clostridial myonecrosis, emphysematous gangrene, emphysematous phlegmon, gangrenous emphysema, gas gangrene, gas phlegmon, progressive emphysematous necrosis
(pathology) a deadly form of gangrene usually caused by clostridium bacteria that produce toxins that cause tissue death; can be used as a bioweapon; hyperbilirubinemia of the newborn, neonatal hyperbilirubinemia
a common disorder that is usually due to immaturity of the liver; usually subsides spontaneously; esophageal reflux, gastroesophageal reflux, oesophageal reflux
reflux of stomach contents into the esophagus; hepatojugular reflux
a venous reflux occurring in congestive heart failure; ureterorenal reflux
a backflow of urine from the ureter into the renal pelvis; vesicoureteral reflux
a backflow of urine from the bladder into the ureter; brandy nose, copper nose, hammer nose, hypertrophic rosacea, potato nose, rhinophyma, rum nose, rum-blossom, toper's nose
enlargement of the nose with dilation of follicles and redness and prominent vascularity of the skin; often associated with excessive consumption of alcohol; dowager's hump
abnormal spinal curvature that results when osteoporosis causes the spine to collapse; seen most often in elderly women; palsy, paralysis
loss of the ability to move a body part; rhinosporidiosis
fungal infection of the nose; often acquired while swimming; ureterostenosis
stenosis of the ureter

Type of:: health problem, ill health, unhealthiness
a state in which you are unable to function normally and without pain

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