Pathology, a science derived from medicine, which investigates the development of diseases that affect human beings, at a structural, biochemical and functional level, being very similar to nosology, but this is in charge of the classification and description of diseases. Its purpose is to be able to describe an injury, recognize it and explain how it can occur. It is classified in general and systematic; the first explores what are degenerations, cancer, necrosis, inflammations, among others, the second focuses on what is the study of organic systems, applying the bases learned in general pathology.
What is Pathology
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It is one of the most important branches of medicine and science. It is vital for the knowledge of new diseases and crucial to find their cures. It has a certain process that must be followed for the proper control of a disease.
The humanity, it is estimated, has 5 million years and have always lived with her illness. However, ancient civilizations were in charge of protecting themselves from them, for this they developed customs within their cultures, which would assist them to complete this mission. There the heyday of the use of medicinal herbs arose, in addition to some chemical compounds that they also used. But soon the pathology units appeared, and thus the desire to know how diseases were generated, so they decided to start investigating them: what caused them, how they developed, how to identify them, their treatment and if they could be cured.
There is a recognized and famous work, the book by Robbins and Cotran, which deals with the study of Pathology and which, thanks to its impeccable practicality, continues to be widely used by clinical professionals. Robbins and Cotran has these texts that are extraordinarily up-to-date, offering the latest advances in the context of basic medical science and its clinical application, with high-quality photographs and illustrations.
According to authors
“The term pathology is used to speak of the alterations suffered by the objects of study of different scientific and technical disciplines. Thus, in the field of architecture, we can hear about stone pathology, plant pathology in the plant world, psychopathology when we speak of individual altered behaviors, and social pathology when we attribute altered behaviors to social groups ”(Herrero J.).
"It is the study of diseases in their broad sense, that is, as abnormal processes or states of known or unknown causes" (Universidad Católica de Chile).
According to the rae
There are two descriptions of the concept:
- It shows it as a branch of medicine that focuses on human diseases.
- He designates it as the group of symptoms associated with certain diseases.
Branches of pathology
General Pathology
It is the study of the mechanisms behind the cell and tissue damage in the face of pathological stimuli and genetic defects. Examples of areas that can be studied include necrosis, neoplasia, wound healing, inflammation, and how cells adapt to damage.
Systemic pathology
It is the study of the different organic systems and specialized tissues.
History of Pathology
This is known as the first application of the scientific method in the field of medicine, a breakthrough that occurred in the Middle East during the Golden Age of Islam and in Western Europe during the Italian Renaissance.
The doctors of Ancient Greece, Herófilo de Chalcedonia and Erasístrato de Chíos, carried out the first systematic dissections in the first part of the 3rd century BC. The first doctor known to perform autopsies was the Arab doctor Avenzoar (1091-1161). Most of the early pathologists also practiced as physicians or surgeons.
Pathological process
Etiology
It refers to the study or search for the origin of a disease, in order to find a diagnosis and the appropriate treatment for it. To achieve this, the first thing the specialist does is a short questioning of the patient, which includes questions such as: family history, personal questions, reason for your consultation, symptoms you have, among others.
Pathogeny
It is the set of biological, physical or chemical mechanisms that lead to the production of a disease that clarifies the way in which a cause (the etiology of the process) ultimately leads to a series of signs and symptoms.
Morphological changes
They refer to pathological alterations in cells or tissues that are typical of the disease. The nature of the morphological transformations and their distribution in the various organs or tissues affects the normal distribution and defines the clinical features (signs), the course and prognosis of the disease.
When cells are exposed to stress or noxious agents they can give rise to a number of physiological and morphological cellular adaptations, preserving viability.
Clinical manifestations
They refer to alterations in cells or tissues that are characteristic of the disease. They act on the normal distribution and determine the clinical characteristics, course, and prognosis of the disease.
Examples and most frequent pathologies
- Cancer: through morphological anatomy, cancer is detected, which is the abnormal growth of malignant cells in the body. It is believed that 1 in 3 people are susceptible to it. Since 1990, with necessary procedures, cancer is said to be curable in approximately 50% of diagnosed patients.
- Alzheimer's: the pathogenesis of this neurodegenerative disease is still a mystery. It is one of the most difficult to treat. According to the pathology in psychology, there are differences in incidence according to sex, since there is a greater risk of suffering from the disease in women, specifically among the population older than 85 years.
- AIDS: thanks to clinical pathology, it is possible to detect this infectious disease with serious consequences. Great advances have been made in medicine, but the pathogenesis and cure are not yet known. The chances of a cure are certainly remote, which is why current research efforts are focused more on obtaining some type of vaccine that prevents new infections.
- Lupus: it is an autoimmune disease. It is unpredictable and can cause arthritis, anemia, skin rashes, etc. In addition, it attacks specific internal organs such as the kidney, lungs or even the heart.
- Diabetes: caused by a metabolic disorder in which the person has too much sugar in the blood and does not produce enough insulin. Through clinical pathology A second type occurs because the body offers resistance to the insulin produced.
- Ebola: A pathological disorder is detected when you have hemorrhagic fever transmitted from primates to humans that can be fatal. It is from Africa. Within a week, a skin rash, often hemorrhagic, appears all over the body. Bleeding generally occurs from the gastrointestinal tract, causing those infected to bleed from both the mouth and rectum.
- Asthma: should go to a pathology unit who has this chronic disease that can progress in severe stages. It occurs in the lungs and inflames the airways. If you don't take proper treatment, it can be fatal. Although it is known that asthma is a condition caused by chronic inflammation of the airways.
- Poliomyelitis: is a viral disease that attacks the nervous system and can cause total or partial paralysis. It mainly affects children between 5 and 10 years old.
- Flu: it is very common and probably everyone has suffered from it at some point. It is caused by a virus that affects the respiratory tract and is always mutating, causing it to only be controlled for a certain time. There are treatments available that focus on relieving symptoms and also helping the body build its defenses.
- Common cold: after the cold, the patient develops an immunity to the virus. However, due to the large number of viruses that exist, there are chances of getting sick again. It is caused by various viruses such as rhinoviruses, coronaviruses and also certain echoviruses and coxsackieviruses, these affect the upper respiratory system.
Contrary to popular belief, vitamin C does not reduce or prevent the symptoms of the disease.
Frequently Asked Questions about Pathology
What does Pathology study?
It is dedicated to studying diseases in their widest acceptance, as unusual states or processes that can arise for known or unknown reasons. To demonstrate the presence of a disease, a lesion is looked for and observed in its structural levels, the existence of some microorganisms, such as viruses, bacteria, parasites or fungi, is detected, and work is done on the alteration of some component of the organism.What is social pathology?
Any characteristic of behavior that does not respond to the parameters of normality within a social framework is considered a pathology. There are a number of factors that lead to mental and emotional instability, among which we find excessive work activity and fatigue, nervous tension, the noise of cities, the breakdown of the traditional family model, and excessive and unsupervised drug use.What are the pathological diseases?
The following are some of the main and most frequent pathologies:- Neuropsychiatric diseases: dementia, Alzheimer's, attention deficit, schizophrenia, bipolar disease, depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome.
- Breast cancer that requires localization of the sentinel node.
- Vascular pathology: cerebrovascular accident, transient cerebral ischemia (“TIA”).
- Bone pain due to: tumors, sports injuries (stress fractures) or osteoporosis among others.
- Suspicion of coronary disease.
- Urinary infection, both to confirm or rule out.
