🧪 Pathology — Intro#

Scope — The study of disease: what goes wrong in the body, why it happens, and how structural and functional changes produce illness.

Key concepts#

• Pathology — scientific study of disease mechanisms, causes, and effects on tissues and organs.
• Etiology — underlying cause of a disease (genetic, infectious, environmental, or multifactorial).
• Pathogenesis — sequence of events from initial cause to clinical manifestations.

Seed Q&A triads#

• Q: How does pathology differ from physiology?
  A: Physiology studies normal function; pathology examines deviations from normal that result in disease.

• Q: What is the difference between etiology and pathogenesis?
  A: Etiology identifies the cause; pathogenesis explains how that cause produces disease.

• Q: Why is pathology central to medicine?
  A: Understanding disease mechanisms links symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment into a coherent framework.

Quick activities#

• Choose a common disease (e.g., diabetes) and identify its etiology, affected organs, and major functional changes.