Pathology

Pathology (in ancient Greek pathos = feeling, pain, suffering and logos = discourse or treatise , i.e., system of formal study) is the study of the processes underlying disease and other forms of illness, harmful abnormality, or dysfunction.

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Within biology, it means specifically the study of the structural and functional changes in cells, tissues and organs that underlie disease. It is a form of science and a branch of medicine that involves testing samples in a medical laboratory and diagnosing health problems from their evidence. Pathologists are skilled in interpreting test results and physical evidence.

Related Topics:
Biology - Disease - Science - Medicine - Medical laboratory

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The related term pathological is sometimes used by clinicians, or casually, to signify some abberant process underlying such a dysfunction, thus a "pathological growth", or casually, a "pathological attitude" or a "pathological woman hater".

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