PATHOLOGY

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does pathology mean? 

• PATHOLOGY (noun)
  The noun PATHOLOGY has 2 senses:

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

2. any deviation from a healthy or normal condition

  Familiarity information: PATHOLOGY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PATHOLOGY (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:

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

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

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))

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

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)

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)

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"):

reflux (an abnormal backward flow of body fluids)

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)

malacia (a state of abnormal softening of tissue)

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)

stenosis; stricture (abnormal narrowing of a bodily canal or passageway)

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)

fibrosis (development of excess fibrous connective tissue in an organ)

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)

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)

 Context examples 

In cases where an underlying pathology cannot be identified, the patient is diagnosed with an "idiopathic" DCM.

(Dilated Cardiomyopathy Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/KEGG)

Researchers measured glucose levels in different brain regions, some vulnerable to Alzheimer’s disease pathology, such as the frontal and temporal cortex, and some that are resistant, like the cerebellum.

(Higher brain glucose levels may mean more severe Alzheimer’s, National Institutes of Health)

Mutations may be associated with genetic diversity or with pathologies including cancer.

(Mutation, NCI Thesaurus)

The branch of pathology concerned with diseases and disorders of the blood and blood-forming organs.

(Hematopathology, NCI Thesaurus)

A disease caused by a deficiency of thiamine (vitamin B1) and characterized by polyneuritis, cardiac pathology, and edema.

(Beri Beri, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)

The branch of pathology concerned with the cause, origin, and nature of human cancers.

(Human Cancer Pathology, NCI Thesaurus)

Hypoxia (or low O2 levels) affects various pathologies.

(Hypoxia-Inducible Factor Pathway, NCI Thesaurus/BIOCARTA)

Increased serum concentrations of these peptides are associated with pathologies that cause bone lysis, such as multiple myeloma, osteolytic metastases, and rheumatoid arthritis.

(C-Terminal Telopeptide Type I Collagen, NCI Thesaurus)

Truncated forms of the protein are involved in the pathology of maturity-onset of diabetes, type 5.

(Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1-Beta, NCI Thesaurus)

The branch of pathology concerned with diseases and disorders of the nervous system.

(Neuropathology, NCI Thesaurus)