pathology

American  

[puh-thol-uh-jee] / pəˈθɒl ə dʒi /

noun

• pathologies
  plural

1. the science or the study of the origin, nature, and course of diseases.

2. the conditions and processes of a disease.

3. any deviation from a healthy, normal, or efficient condition.

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pathology British  

/ pəˈθɒlədʒɪ /

noun

1. the branch of medicine concerned with the cause, origin, and nature of disease, including the changes occurring as a result of disease

2. the manifestations of disease, esp changes occurring in tissues or organs

3. any variant or deviant condition from normal

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pathology Scientific  

/ pə-thŏl′ə-jē /

1. The scientific study of disease and its causes, processes, and effects.

2. The physical and mental abnormalities that result from disease or trauma.

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pathology Cultural  

1. A branch of medicine that explores the nature and cause of disease. Pathology also involves the study of bodily changes that occur as the result of disease.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• pathologist
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• pathologies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of pathology

First recorded in 1590–1600; earlier pathologia, from Latin, from Greek pathología; see patho- ( def. ), -logy ( def. )

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Explanation

Pathology is the medical term for the way a disease works. A tumor is removed by a doctor trained in surgery, but you need a doctor trained in pathology to tell you if the tumor is cancer. Pathology derives from the Greek pathos "suffering" and ology "study of"––to give us "the study of disease," but often pathology means the disease's behavior––the cancer pathology is to take over healthy cells and grow cancerous tumors. We also use pathology to describe abnormal conditions that aren’t really diseases, like the pathology of Hollywood stars who live their lives in public and become obsessed with fitness.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

pathology pathologies

Last year the Ministry of Justice said there were significant challenges affecting post-mortem pathology services and that it was working urgently to find a long-term solution to improve the service.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Dr. Yücel, a professor and director of ophthalmic pathology at the University of Toronto, continued investigating the possibility that similar pathways might exist elsewhere in the eye.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

“There’s a pathology going on here that is so out of keeping with the dignity that ought to characterize the taking of a life as a result of a legal process,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026

"No health disorders associated with infectious pathology were detected," it said, adding that "the results of almost 5,000 laboratory tests did not reveal any dangerous pathogenic microorganisms".

From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026

I heard about them in histology, neurology, pathology; I used them in experiments on how neighboring cells communicate.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot

By combining neutron imaging with X-ray techniques, the scientists hope to investigate pathologies preserved in fossils and examine how those ancient conditions compare with differences found in modern species.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 24, 2026

“Scholars on both the left and right make comfortable livings detailing the pathologies of the poor without ever talking with a single poor person,” he wrote.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

My vocal cords were mostly moving as they should be, ruling out vocal cord paralysis or other pathologies.

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2026

Mice brains are often used in scientific research into human brain pathologies including dementia because of key similarities between the two.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 29, 2025

I was elaborating upon my “legend” consistently and Luzan accepted my pathologies.

From "Native Speaker" by Chang-rae Lee

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