pathology

pathology — noun

1. the branch of medicine that examines disease, including its causes and the chang

1.nounC2
Definition

the branch of medicine that examines disease, including its causes and the changes it makes in the body.

Example

After medical school, Nina chose pathology instead of surgery.

pattern: choose/study pathology

The hospital's pathology department tested the tissue sample that afternoon.

collocation: pathology department

Common collocations
  • study pathology
  • pathology department
  • pathology class
  • pathology lab
Synonyms
  • medicine

    much broader, covering treatment and general medical practice as well as study

  • pathophysiology

    narrower, focusing on how disease changes body function

  • histopathology

    more specific, dealing especially with diseased tissue under a microscope

Grammar Patterns

study pathology

pathology department

pathology class

Usage Note

Usually uncountable when it names the subject or field. Distinguish from sense 2: this sense is the academic study, while sense 2 is the disease-related change itself.

Common Mistakes

Mia studies pathologies at medical school.
Mia studies pathology at medical school.
Use the uncountable form when you mean the field of study.
The book explains pathology as a science class only.
The book explains pathology as the medical study of disease.
This sense covers the whole medical field, not just one class.

2. the changes in the body that form a disease or show how it affects tissue or org

2.nounC2
Definition

the changes in the body that form a disease or show how it affects tissue or organs.

Example

The scan showed the lung pathology before Maya felt any pain.

pattern: organ + pathology

Doctors discussed the brain pathology during Sam's case meeting.

Common collocations
  • lung pathology
  • brain pathology
  • heart pathology
  • show pathology
  • pathology of the disease
Synonyms
  • disease process

    stresses how the illness develops over time

  • abnormality

    broader and less technical, not limited to disease

  • lesion

    more specific, usually one damaged area rather than the whole pattern of change

Antonyms
  • normal tissue

    refers to healthy structure without disease-related change

Grammar Patterns

pathology of + disease

lung/brain/heart pathology

show pathology

Usage Note

Often follows the name of an organ or comes after of to name the disease. Distinguish from sense 1: this sense is about the actual abnormal change, not the study of it.

Common Mistakes

The paper studies a new pathology in medical school.
The paper studies the pathology of the disease.
In this sense, pathology means the disease-related change itself, often linked to a disease or organ.
The pathology were clear on the scan.
The pathology was clear on the scan.
This sense is usually uncountable when it means the abnormal changes in tissue or organs.

3. a disease or unhealthy condition, especially in technical medical use.

3.nounC2
Definition

a disease or unhealthy condition, especially in technical medical use.

Example

The clinic treats skin pathologies in farm workers every summer.

technical plural: pathologies

The report lists three eye pathologies found in children under six.

pattern: list several pathologies

Common collocations
  • skin pathologies
  • bone pathologies
  • rare pathology
  • treat pathologies
Synonyms
  • disease

    the most general word and often less technical than pathology

  • disorder

    common in medical naming and often used for conditions affecting function

  • condition

    very broad and sometimes softer in tone than disease

  • syndrome

    used when a set of signs or symptoms tends to appear together

Antonyms
  • health

    the state of being well rather than diseased

Grammar Patterns

rare/serious pathology

treat pathologies

list several pathologies

Usage Note

Most often appears in technical writing or specialist talk, especially in the plural. Distinguish from sense 4: this sense is for real medical disorders, not figurative social or mental problems.

Common Mistakes

The doctor found many pathology in the report.
The doctor found many pathologies in the report.
Use the plural countable form when you mean several diseases or conditions.
Stress at work is a pathology in his office.
Stress at work is a serious problem in his office.
This sense is for medical conditions, not ordinary workplace problems.

4. a harmful mental, social, or language pattern that seems extreme and hard to con

4.nounC2
Definition

a harmful mental, social, or language pattern that seems extreme and hard to control.

Example

Mina's need to win every talk became a family pathology.

collocation: family pathology

The paper calls online hate a pathology of public debate.

phrase: pathology of + public life

Common collocations
  • family pathology
  • pathology of public debate
  • cultural pathology
  • call it a pathology
Synonyms
  • dysfunction

    focuses on something not working properly in a person, group, or system

  • social ill

    usually refers to a wider public problem rather than one pattern of behavior

  • obsession

    stronger for one person's extreme fixated thought or habit

  • disorder

    can overlap in mental-health contexts, but pathology is more analytical and often figurative

Antonyms
  • balance

    suggests emotional or social stability instead of unhealthy excess

Grammar Patterns

a pathology of + society/system

family pathology

call something a pathology

Usage Note

Common in formal criticism of behavior, institutions, or public life. It usually suggests something deep and unhealthy, not a small everyday problem.

Common Mistakes

A broken printer is a pathology in the office.
A habit of blame is a pathology in the office.
This figurative sense is for serious unhealthy patterns, not ordinary practical problems.

Word family

  • pathological
    adjectiveC2
  • pathologically
    adverbC2
  • pathologist
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Pathology is the branch of medicine that studies disease itself, especially its causes and the changes it produces in the body. Medicine is much broader, because it also includes diagnosing, treating, and preventing illness. Pathophysiology is narrower than pathology and focuses on how disease changes normal body function. Histology is the study of tissue in general, including healthy tissue, while histopathology narrows that down to diseased tissue examined closely, often under a microscope. Use pathology when the subject is disease as a field of study: Nina chose pathology after medical school. Use histology when the focus is normal tissue structure: The students studied liver histology before learning about cancer.

pathology ↗medicine ↗pathophysiologyhistologyhistopathology

Etymology

GreekNew LatinEnglish

Pathology comes from Greek parts meaning "suffering" or "disease" and "study." It reached English through modern learned forms used in medicine, so the word has kept its original idea of studying disease and its effects.