Abstract
What is pathologization?
Pathology
Pathology is the precise study and diagnosis of disease. The word "pathology" is from Ancient Greek , "pathos" which may be translated into English as either "experience" or "suffering", and , "-logia", "an account of" or "the study of". "Pathologization", to pathologize, refers to the process of defining a condition or behavior as pathological, e.g. pathological gambling. Pathologies (or pathoses) is synonymous with diseases. The prefix "path" is used to indicate a state of disease, and may be used to indicate psychological (e.g. psychopath) or physical disease (e.g. cardiomyopathy). A physician practicing pathology is called a pathologist. Pathology addresses four components of disease: cause/etiology, mechanisms of development (pathogenesis), structural alterations of cells (morphologic changes), and the consequences of changes (clinical manifestations). Pathology is further separated into divisions, based on either the system being studied (e.g. dermatopathology) or the focus of the examination (e.g. forensic pathology and determining the cause of death).