aetiology
Study of causes
Aetiology is the study or assignment of causes, especially of diseases.
A physician investigates the aetiology of symptoms to determine their origin.
The term extends beyond medicine to any inquiry into causation: the aetiology of crime, the aetiology of revolution.
The American spelling is etiology.
How disease develops
- pathophysiologyScience of disease mechanisms
- epidemiologyStudy of disease spread
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- diseaseDisorder impairing normal function
infection · syndrome · disorder · symptomatology · prognosis · causation · predisposition · risk factor
What produces an effect
- originStarting point or source
- sourcePoint of origin
- rootUnderground absorbing structure
- basisUnderlying support or principle
genesis · trigger · factor · antecedent · catalyst · mechanism · determinant · precipitant
Study of purpose in nature
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- causalityCause-effect connection
- first causeInitial triggering factor
- necessityIndispensable requirement
contingency · explanation · cosmological · metaphysics · reason · purpose · sufficient reason · counterfactual
Account of how something began
- creation mythOrigin narrative of existence
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- founding mythNarrative explaining how something began
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
narrative · tradition · ancestral · primordial · genesis
pathogenesis
How disease develops
- pathophysiologyScience of disease mechanisms
- epidemiologyStudy of disease spread
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
disease · infection · syndrome · disorder · symptomatology · prognosis · causation · predisposition · risk factor · comorbidity
cause
What produces an effect
basis · genesis · trigger · factor · antecedent · catalyst · mechanism · determinant · precipitant · foundation
teleology
Study of purpose in nature
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- causalityCause-effect connection
- first causeInitial triggering factor
necessity · contingency · explanation · cosmological · metaphysics · reason · purpose · sufficient reason · counterfactual
origin story
Account of how something began
- creation mythOrigin narrative of existence
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- founding mythNarrative explaining how something began
folklore · narrative · tradition · ancestral · primordial · genesis
aetiologyprognosis
Predicted disease course
sequelae · outcome · consequence · effect · manifestation
aetiologytreatment
Care for an ailment
therapy · intervention · prognosis · management · cure
aetiologysymptomatology
Study of disease manifestations
phenomenology · manifestation · presentation · semiotics · description
pathological, pathology, etiology, pathologically, etiological, etiologic