What is pathology? This word can often be heard from doctors, as well as representatives of other professions. However, many people do not know the meaning of this concept, or confuse it with other terms.
In this article we will tell you what pathology is and what it can be.
What does pathology mean
Pathology (Greek πάθος-suffering and λογος-teaching) - a section of medical science that studies disease processes and conditions in a living organism.
Also, pathology is a painful deviation from a normal state or developmental process, an ugly abnormality. Pathologies include diseases, dysfunctions and processes of deviation from the norm.
As a rule, the word "pathology" is used precisely when it comes to any anatomical or physiological abnormalities. Also, this term is often used as a synonym for the process of disease progression.
Pathology is based on 2 methods of study:
- descriptive;
- experimental.
Today, pathology is based on autopsies performed by pathologists. After the autopsy, specialists study the body that was susceptible to diseases in order to investigate changes in the body of the deceased.
In the event that it is not possible to establish the cause of the disease, experts resort to another method - an experimental one. For this purpose, experiments are carried out on animals, such as mice or rats. After a series of experiments, doctors can be convinced or, conversely, refute the reason that caused this or that pathology.
Summing up all of the above, it can be emphasized that only by combining various methods of study and conducting experiments, scientists can find out the cause of the pathology and, if possible, invent drugs for its treatment.
