Library / English Dictionary

PATHOLOGY

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

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

Classified under:

Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents

Hypernyms ("pathology" is a kind of...):

medical science (the science of dealing with the maintenance of health and the prevention and treatment of disease)

Domain member category:

incubation ((pathology) the phase in the development of an infection between the time a pathogen enters the body and the time the first symptoms appear)

active (tending to become more severe or wider in scope)

inactive ((pathology) not progressing or increasing; or progressing slowly)

indolent ((of tumors, e.g.) slow to heal or develop and usually painless)

latent ((pathology) not presently active)

quiescent ((pathology) causing no symptoms)

functional (involving or affecting function rather than physiology)

organic (involving or affecting physiology or bodily organs)

specific (being or affecting a disease produced by a particular microorganism or condition; used also of stains or dyes used in making microscope slides)

nonspecific (not caused by a specific agent; used also of staining in making microscope slides)

stenosed; stenotic (abnormally constricted body canal or passage)

irritable (abnormally sensitive to a stimulus)

fistular; fistulate; fistulous (hollow and tube-shaped like a reed)

benign (not dangerous to health; not recurrent or progressive (especially of a tumor))

malignant (dangerous to health; characterized by progressive and uncontrolled growth (especially of a tumor))

spasm ((pathology) sudden constriction of a hollow organ (as a blood vessel))

strangulation ((pathology) constriction of a body part so as to cut off the flow of blood or other fluid)

jactation; jactitation ((pathology) extremely restless tossing and twitching usually by a person with a severe illness)

nebula ((pathology) a faint cloudy spot on the cornea)

verruca; wart ((pathology) a firm abnormal elevated blemish on the skin; caused by a virus)

plaque ((pathology) a small abnormal patch on or inside the body)

bleb; blister; bulla ((pathology) an elevation of the skin filled with serous fluid)

excrescence ((pathology) an abnormal outgrowth or enlargement of some part of the body)

shock ((pathology) bodily collapse or near collapse caused by inadequate oxygen delivery to the cells; characterized by reduced cardiac output and rapid heartbeat and circulatory insufficiency and pallor)

insufficiency ((pathology) inability of a bodily part or organ to function normally)

growth ((pathology) an abnormal proliferation of tissue (as in a tumor))

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)

irritation ((pathology) abnormal sensitivity to stimulation)

amyloid ((pathology) a waxy translucent complex protein resembling starch that results from degeneration of tissue)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pathology"):

palaeopathology; paleopathology (the study of disease of former times (as inferred from fossil evidence))

Derivation:

pathologic; pathological (of or relating to the practice of pathology)

pathologist (a doctor who specializes in medical diagnosis)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any deviation from a healthy or normal condition

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Hypernyms ("pathology" is a kind of...):

health problem; ill health; unhealthiness (a state in which you are unable to function normally and without pain)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "pathology"):

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)

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-storage disease; iron overload (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)

Derivation:

pathologic; pathological (caused by or altered by or manifesting disease or pathology)

pathological (caused by or evidencing a mentally disturbed condition)

pathologist (a doctor who specializes in medical diagnosis)

Credits

 Context examples: 

Subdiscipline of pathology with a focus on vision and the eye.

(Ocular Pathology, NCI Thesaurus)

Basic research in the field of pathology, which excludes that concerned with tumors and cancer.

(Experimental Pathology, Other Than Tumors, NCI Thesaurus)

An examination that is performed to determine the extent of the spread of cancer based on histopathologic examination of one or more pathology specimens.

(Pathological staging, NCI Thesaurus)

Betacyanin is a potent antioxidant that has been shown to significantly reduce oxidative stress in patients and may even help in preventing chronic pathologies, inflammation, and cancer, according to the scientific literature.

(World's First True Red Spinach Variety Released, U.S. Department of Agriculture)

A branch of pathology that focuses on animal tumors.

(Pathology of Tumors in Animals, NCI Thesaurus)

This disorder is a common condition with no detectable focal pathology.

(Pars Planitis, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

They have varied pathology depending on the phase of the reproductive life from fetal stage to adulthood.

(Ovarian Disorder, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The branch of pathology focusing on diseases and disorders of the oral cavity.

(Oral Pathology, NCI Thesaurus)

A dental specialty concerned with pathology of the oral cavity.

(Oral Pathology, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

This is also applicable to certain chronic pathologies that present inflammation and pain, as is the case of arthritis.

(Scientists make white blood cells to alleviate pain, instead of producing it, during tissue inflammation, University of Granada)