The term "pathology" has two main meanings. The first is a synonym for the disease, a painful condition, a deviation from the norm. In the second case, pathology is a science that studies these deviations; it has many sections and narrower areas dealing with certain organs or organ systems. There are also related disciplines: pathology, and pathphysiology, histology and others.
In the general sense, this term is used in the first sense, as a synonym for the words "disease" or "morbid condition". In this sense, congenital and acquired abnormalities are distinguished. In the first case, violations occur at the stage of formation or intrauterine development, and in the second - during life.
As a rule, congenital pathology is the object of research, primarily for prenatal and perinatal diagnostics, that is, problems are detected during pregnancy and immediately after birth. Serious violations are detected even in the first or early second trimester. In many cases, even before they are detected or even before the fact of pregnancy is established, it spontaneously terminates. Most often this indicates gross chromosomal abnormalities, but sometimesindicates problems in the female reproductive system. Acquired pathology may be due to diseases at a more or less mature age - as a result of the influence of various factors. These include injuries, exposure to chemicals, past illnesses, etc.
Actually, "pathology" is one of the most popular terms in medicine. It can refer to any section: neurology, orthopedics, surgery, gastroenterology, gynecology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and so on. In pathology, as in science, there are also several specialized sections that deal, for example, only with cell malfunctions or explain the occurrence of diseases by changing the internal environment of the body, some disciplines even study the occurrence of diseases at the molecular level.
There is even experimental pathology: this direction is engaged in modeling various processes and conditions on animals. So this branch of medicine is distinguished by a variety of directions.
Treatment of pathologies is carried out by specialist doctors, depending on which symptoms the patient is experiencing. There is one subtlety: due to various factors, the concept of the norm changes, and in medicine such changes occur quite quickly and often. What was considered a serious pathology a couple of decades ago, today may be a variant of the norm. On the other hand, if the deviation from the norm is treatable, why not get rid of it, even if it is not
interfering?
By the way, "pathology" is a term used not only in medicine. For example, this concept is used in sociology to refer to disease processes in society, which indicates its ill he alth. For example, this is the name given to human actions and types of behavior that society perceives as immoral and harmful - alcoholism, drug addiction, crime, etc. Such phenomena weaken the functioning of society, and therefore need to be counteracted.
So don't be scared when you read the word "pathology" in a medical record or doctor's note, because in many cases it is just a synonym for the term "disease".
