etiology
Study of causes
Etiology is the study or assignment of causes—why something happened or came to be.
In medicine, etiology refers to the cause or origin of a disease: The etiology of the infection remains unknown.
More broadly, it applies to any investigation of origins: the etiology of the financial crisis.
Also spelled aetiology in British English.
Production of effects
- teleologyStudy of purpose in nature
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- AristotleGreek founder of formal logic
- causal chainEvents triggering subsequent events
first cause · cosmological · metaphysics · ontology · necessity · contingency · explanation · reason
Study of disease spread
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- methodologyFormal procedural framework
- cohortGroup sharing circumstances
risk factors · incidence · prevalence · correlation · causation · confounders · evidence · data
How disease develops
- pathophysiologyScience of disease mechanisms
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
- geneticsScience of hereditary transmission
virus · bacteria · mutation · oncogene · immunodeficiency · toxin · carcinogen · microorganism
causation
Production of effects
- teleologyStudy of purpose in nature
- determinismDoctrine of causal necessity
- AristotleGreek founder of formal logic
causal chain · first cause · cosmological · metaphysics · ontology · necessity · contingency · explanation · reason · purpose
epidemiology
Study of disease spread
- hypothesisTestable proposed explanation
- investigationFormal examination of facts
- methodologyFormal procedural framework
cohort · risk factors · incidence · prevalence · correlation · causation · confounders · evidence · data · analysis
pathogenesis
How disease develops
- pathophysiologyScience of disease mechanisms
- diagnosisIdentification of illness
- infectionPathogen invasion causing illness
genetics · virus · bacteria · mutation · oncogene · immunodeficiency · toxin · carcinogen · microorganism · parasite
- medicinedoctor, doctors, hospital, medicine, surgery
- mental healthpsychiatry, psychotherapy, mental illness, psychiatrist, therapist
- causescause, root cause, primary cause, underlying cause, origin
- disease causescausation, pathogens, genetics, infection, root causes
- medical diagnosisdiagnosis, symptom, symptoms, condition, disease
- root causessource, origin, cause, reason, primary cause
etiologyoutcome
Final result of events
sequelae · treatment · therapy · consequence · effect
etiologyprognosis
Predicted disease course
symptomatology · outcome · manifestation · presentation · terminus