pathology

noun

pa·​thol·​o·​gy pə-ˈthä-lə-jē 

plural pathologies

1

: the study of the essential nature of diseases and especially of the structural and functional changes produced by them

studied plant pathology

2

: something abnormal:

a

: the structural and functional deviations from the normal that constitute disease or characterize a particular disease

the pathology of pneumonia

b

: deviation from propriety or from an assumed normal state of something nonliving or nonmaterial

the pathology of wine

c

: deviation giving rise to social ills

connections between these pathologies … and crime

—Wendy Kaminer

social pathology

Examples of pathology in a Sentence

the pathology of lung diseases

Recent Examples on the Web

Her work was then co-opted and published as proof of pathology under the name George W. Henry. —Bethanne Patrick, Los Angeles Times, 28 Sep. 2023

Typically, a woman’s cancer type is determined by her pathology report and other general clinical factors. —Nathalie McDowell Johnson, STAT, 19 Sep. 2023

In response to Morton-Maxson's complaint in King County Superior Court, UW Medicine stated on Aug. 14 that his tumor, identified as a papillary lesion, had not been located or reviewed by the hospital's pathology department after his surgery. —Sandra Rose Salathe, Peoplemag, 16 Sep. 2023

The model uses more than a billion images from half-a-million pathology slides comprising multiple types of cancers. —Nikolas Lanum, Fox News, 10 Sep. 2023

The Joint Commission’s guidelines recommend hospitals maintain access to patient records and results, and that labs, radiology and pathology services can still share test results with doctors even when tech normally used isn’t available. —Catherine Stupp, WSJ, 25 Aug. 2023

Occasionally, partial molar pregnancies are diagnosed with pathology after submitting tissue from what seems to be a normal first trimester miscarriage. —​wendy Wisner, Parents, 15 Sep. 2023

Fast forward to 2021, with advances in DNA testing and forensic pathology, Thornton, now aided by genealogy analyst Olivia McCarter, began digging again. —Warren Kulo | [e-mail], al, 25 Aug. 2023

He was named a professor emeritus of pathology at Hopkins in 2014 and became director emeritus of the university’s cytopathology institute. —Dan Belson, Baltimore Sun, 31 July 2023

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Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French & New Latin; Middle French pathologie, borrowed from New Latin pathologia "study of the emotions, study of diseases," from patho- patho- + -logia -logy

Note: Probably formed on the basis of New Latin pathologicus (see pathological). In the sense "study of the emotions," perhaps directly from Greek pathología "study of the passions," attested in Greek-Latin glossaries.

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pathology

noun

pa·​thol·​o·​gy pə-ˈthäl-ə-jē 

plural pathologies

1

: the study of diseases and especially of the changes in the body produced by them

2

: something abnormal

especially : the disorders in structure and function that occur in a particular disease

Medical Definition

pathology

noun

pa·​thol·​o·​gy -jē 

plural pathologies

1

: the study of the essential nature of diseases and especially of the structural and functional changes produced by them

2

: the anatomic and physiological deviations from the normal that constitute disease or characterize a particular disease

3

: a treatise on or compilation of abnormalities

a new pathology of the eye