The study of disease is called pathology . It involves the determination of the cause (etiology) of the disease, the understanding of the mechanisms of its development (pathogenesis), the structural changes associated with the disease process (morphological changes), and the functional consequences of those changes.
What do you call the study of diseases?
Epidemiology is the study of diseases in given populations. Epidemiologists examine how and where disease outbreaks start, how diseases are transmitted among individuals in a population and how to effectively treat those diseases.
What is the science of diseases?
By definition, epidemiology is the study (scientific, systematic, and data-driven) of the distribution (frequency, pattern) and determinants (causes, risk factors) of health-related states and events (not just diseases) in specified populations (neighborhood, school, city, state, country, global).
What is the science of infectious disease?
Infectious diseases are defined as disorders caused by pathogenic microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi that can be spread directly or indirectly (vector-borne) from one individual to another.
Is Epidemiology a science?
Epidemiology is a scientific discipline with sound methods of scientific inquiry at its foundation . Epidemiology is data-driven and relies on a systematic and unbiased approach to the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
What are the 5 types of diseases?
There are four main types of disease: infectious diseases, deficiency diseases, hereditary diseases (including both genetic diseases and non-genetic hereditary diseases), and physiological diseases. Diseases can also be classified in other ways, such as communicable versus non-communicable diseases.
What are the 3 major types of epidemiologic studies?
EPIDEMIOLOGIC STUDY DESIGNS
Three major types of epidemiologic studies are cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies (study designs are discussed in more detail in IOM, 2000). A cohort, or longitudinal, study follows a defined group over time.
Is Epidemiologist a doctor?
Are epidemiologists considered medical doctors? No. While epidemiologists study and investigate the causes and sources of diseases in much the same way as medical doctors, they’re not considered actual physicians .
Who was the first epidemiologist?
The Greek physician Hippocrates is known as the father of medicine, and was the first epidemiologist. The distinction between ” epidemic ” and “endemic” was first drawn by Hippocrates, to distinguish between diseases that are “visited upon” a population (epidemic) from those that “reside within” a population (endemic).
What is the study of how disease occurs?
Epidemiology is the study of how often diseases occur in different groups of people and why. Epidemiological information is used to plan and evaluate strategies to prevent illness and as a guide to the management of patients in whom disease has already developed.
What are the 4 types of infectious diseases?
There are different types of pathogens, but we’re going to focus on the four most common types: viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites .
What are infectious disease scientists called?
Epidemiologists also study the interaction of diseases in a population, a condition known as a syndemic. The term epidemiology is now widely applied to cover the description and causation of not only epidemic, infectious disease, but of disease in general, including related conditions.
What are contagious diseases?
A contagious disease is a disease that is readily spread (that is, communicated) by transmission of a pathogen from an infected person to another person . Contagious diseases vary in how readily they are communicated.
What are the four methods of epidemiology?
Epidemiological investigations can be grouped into four broad categories: Observational epidemiology, experimental epidemiology, natural experiments, and Theoretical epidemiology . Several types study designs and measures of relationship are used in these investigations.
What are the two types of epidemiology?
Epidemiologic studies fall into two categories: experimental and observational .
What are the four uses of epidemiology?
For community diagnosis of the presence, nature and distribution of health and disease among the population , and the dimensions of these in incidence, prevalence, and mortality; taking into account that society is changing and health problems are changing. To study the workings of health services.
