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Pathogenesis
 
 
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The term pathogenesis means step by step development of a disease and the chain of events leading to that disease due to a series of changes in the structure and /or function of a cell/tissue/organ being caused by a microbial , chemical or physical agent. The pathogenesis of a disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 is the mechanism
Mechanism

Mechanism may refer to:*Mechanism , explaining how a feature is created.*Reaction_mechanism , explaining a reaction pathway.*Mechanism , a theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes...
 by which an etiological
Etiology

Etiology is the study of Causality. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek , aitiologia, "giving a reason for" .The word is most commonly used in medical and philosophical theories, where it is used to refer to the study of why things occur, or even the reasons behind the way that things act, and is used in philosophy, physics, psy...
 factor causes the disease. The term can also be used to describe the development of the disease, such as acute, chronic and recurrent.






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The term pathogenesis means step by step development of a disease and the chain of events leading to that disease due to a series of changes in the structure and /or function of a cell/tissue/organ being caused by a microbial , chemical or physical agent. The pathogenesis of a disease
Disease

A disease or medical condition is an abnormal condition of an organism that impairs bodily functions, associated with specific symptoms and Medical signs....
 is the mechanism
Mechanism

Mechanism may refer to:*Mechanism , explaining how a feature is created.*Reaction_mechanism , explaining a reaction pathway.*Mechanism , a theory that all natural phenomena can be explained by physical causes...
 by which an etiological
Etiology

Etiology is the study of Causality. The word is derived from the Ancient Greek , aitiologia, "giving a reason for" .The word is most commonly used in medical and philosophical theories, where it is used to refer to the study of why things occur, or even the reasons behind the way that things act, and is used in philosophy, physics, psy...
 factor causes the disease. The term can also be used to describe the development of the disease, such as acute, chronic and recurrent. The word comes from the Greek
Greek language

Greek is an Indo-European languages native to the southern Balkan peninsula, the language of the Greek people. It forms an independent branch within Indo-European....
 pathos, "disease", and genesis, "creation".

Types of pathogenesis include microbial infection
Infection

An infection is the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species. In an infection, the infecting organism seeks to utilize the host resources to multiply ....
, inflammation
Inflammation

Inflammation is the complex biological response of Blood vessel tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a protective attempt by the organism to remove the injurious stimuli as well as initiate the healing process for the tissue....
, malignancy and tissue breakdown
Necrosis

Necrosis is the name given to premature death of cell s and living biological tissue. Necrosis is caused by external factors, such as infection, toxins, or trauma....
.

Most diseases are caused by multiple pathogenetical processes together. For example, certain cancer
Cancer

Cancer is a class of diseases in which a group of cell display uncontrolled growth , invasion , and sometimes metastasis . These three malignant properties of cancers differentiate them from benign tumors, which are self-limited, do not invade or metastasize....
s arise from dysfunction of the immune system
Immune system

An immune system is a collection of biological processes within an organism that protects against disease by identifying and killing pathogens and tumour cells....
 (skin
Skin

The skin is the outer covering of the body, also known as the epidermis. It is the largest organ of the integumentary system made up of multiple layers of epithelial biological tissue, and guards the underlying muscles, bones, ligaments and organ s....
 tumor
Tumor

A tumor or tumour is the name for a swelling or lesion formed by an abnormal growth of cells . Tumor is not synonymous with cancer. A tumor can be Benign neoplasm, Carcinoma in situ or malignant, whereas cancer is by definition malignant....
s and lymphoma
Lymphoma

Lymphoma is a type of cancer that originates in lymphocytes of the immune system. They often originate in lymph nodes, presenting as an enlargement of the node ....
 after a renal transplant, which requires immunosuppression
Immunosuppression

Immunosuppression involves an act that reduces the activation or efficacy of the immune system. Some portions of the immune system itself have immuno-suppressive effects on other parts of the immune system, and immunosuppression may occur as an adverse reaction to treatment of other conditions....
).

Often, a potential etiology is identified by epidemiological
Epidemiology

Epidemiology is the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations, and serves as the foundation and logic of interventions made in the interest of public health and preventive medicine....
 observations before a pathological link can be drawn between the cause and the disease.

See also

  • Pathology
    Pathology

    Pathology is the study and diagnosis of disease through examination of Organ , tissue , bodily fluids and whole bodies . The term also encompasses the related science study of disease processes, called General pathology....