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- Dictionarydisease/dɪˈziːz/
noun
- 1. a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that has a known cause and a distinctive group of symptoms, signs, or anatomical changes: "bacterial meningitis is quite a rare disease"
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Learn the meaning of disease as an illness or a condition that harms the body or structure of a person, animal, or plant. See how to use disease in sentences and collocations with other words.
- English (US)
a condition of a person, animal, or plant in which its body...
- Traditional
DISEASE translate: 病，疾病, （人或社會的）惡疾，弊病. Learn more in the...
- Znaczenie Disease, Definicja W Cambridge English Dictionary
DISEASE definicja: 1. (an) illness of people, animals,...
- Disease: Arabic Translation
DISEASE translate: مَرَض / عِلّة. Learn more in the...
- Disease: Malay Translation
DISEASE translate: penyakit. Learn more in the Cambridge...
- Disease: Korean Translation
DISEASE translate: 질병. Learn more in the Cambridge...
- Disease: French Translation
DISEASE translate: maladie [feminine], maladie. Learn more...
- Disease: German Translation
disease translate: die Krankheit. Learn more in the...
- English (US)
- Overview
- Major distinctions
- Noncommunicable disease
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disease, any harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism, generally associated with certain signs and symptoms and differing in nature from physical injury. A diseased organism commonly exhibits signs or symptoms indicative of its abnormal state. Thus, the normal condition of an organism must be understood in order to recognize the hallmarks of disease. Nevertheless, a sharp demarcation between disease and health is not always apparent.
The study of disease is called pathology. It involves the determination of the cause (etiology) of the disease, the understanding of the mechanisms of its development (pathogenesis), the structural changes associated with the disease process (morphological changes), and the functional consequences of those changes. Correctly identifying the cause of a disease is necessary to identifying the proper course of treatment.
The normal state of an organism represents a condition of delicate physiological balance, or homeostasis, in terms of chemical, physical, and functional processes, maintained by a complex of mechanisms that are not fully understood. In a fundamental sense, therefore, disease represents the consequences of a breakdown of the homeostatic control mechanisms. In some instances the affected mechanisms are clearly indicated, but in most cases a complex of mechanisms is disturbed, initially or sequentially, and precise definition of the pathogenesis of the ensuing disease is elusive. Death in humans and other mammals, for example, often results directly from heart or lung failure, but the preceding sequence of events may be highly complex, involving disturbances of other organ systems and derangement of other control mechanisms.
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The initial cause of the diseased state may lie within the individual organism itself, and the disease is then said to be idiopathic, innate, primary, or “essential.” It may result from a course of medical treatment, either as an unavoidable side effect or because the treatment itself was ill-advised; in either case the disease is classed as iatrogenic. Finally, the disease may be caused by some agent external to the organism, such as a chemical that is a toxic agent. In this case the disease is noncommunicable; that is, it affects only the individual organism exposed to it. The external agent may be itself a living organism capable of multiplying within the host and subsequently infecting other organisms; in this case the disease is said to be communicable.
Noncommunicable diseases generally are long-lasting and progress slowly, and thus they are sometimes also referred to as chronic diseases. They can arise from environmental exposures or from genetically determined abnormalities, which may be evident at birth or which may become apparent later in life. The World Health Organization (WHO) has identified four major types of noncommunicable disease: cancer, cardiovascular disease (e.g., heart attack, stroke), chronic respiratory disease (e.g., asthma), and diabetes mellitus. WHO estimates that, combined, these four groups of conditions account for 82 percent of all deaths from noncommunicable disease.
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Noncommunicable diseases that arise from inherited genetic abnormalities often leave an individual ill-equipped to survive without some form of treatment. Examples of inherited disease include cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, and inborn errors of metabolism, which are present at birth. Examples of inherited diseases that emerge in adulthood include Huntington disease and certain forms of cancer (e.g., familial breast cancer involving inherited mutations in either of the genes BRCA1 or BRCA2).
Disease is any harmful deviation from the normal state of an organism, associated with certain signs and symptoms. Learn about the causes, mechanisms, and consequences of disease, as well as the major types of noncommunicable and communicable diseases.
A disease is a particular abnormal condition that adversely affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism and is not immediately due to any external injury. [1] [2] Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that are associated with specific signs and symptoms.
At first sight, the answer to “What is a disease?” is straightforward. Most of us feel we have an intuitive grasp of the idea, reaching mentally to images or memories of colds, cancer or tuberculosis.
- Jackie Leach Scully
- 10.1038/sj.embor.7400195
- 2004
- EMBO Rep. 2004 Jul; 5(7): 650-653.
Learn the medical and general definitions of disease, as well as synonyms, examples, and word history. Find out how disease is related to health, illness, and other terms.
Disease definition: a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment..
Learn the meaning of disease as an illness or a condition that harms the body or structure of a person, animal, or plant. See how to use disease in sentences and collocations with other words.
