Pathology

Definition

The study of disease processes, their causes, mechanisms, and effects on organisms; in entomology and natural history, the discipline encompasses disease in arthropods, the pathology of vector-borne infections in hosts, and the use of insects as model systems for understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms of disease.

Etymology

From Greek pathos (suffering, disease) + -logia (study of)

Example

Honey bee pathology investigates how Nosema ceranae microsporidian infection disrupts gut epithelial cells, leading to nutrient malabsorption and colony-level collapse; veterinary entomology applies pathology to diagnose cutaneous myiasis in livestock by examining tissue damage caused by blow fly larvae.

Related Terms

• Etiology
• Histopathology
• cytopathology
• vector-borne disease
• Entomopathogenic
• myiasis
• Epidemiology
• immunology
• parasitology

Usage Notes

In entomology, pathology spans two distinct domains: (1) disease processes within arthropods themselves, including infections by bacteria, fungi, nematodes, or viruses that may be exploited for biological control; and (2) arthropods as vectors or agents that cause pathology in vertebrate hosts. The term contrasts with symptomatology (description of signs) and etiology (study of causes). 'Pathogen' refers to the causative agent, while 'pathology' refers to the study or the structural/functional disease state itself. In veterinary and medical entomology, histopathological examination of vector tissues can reveal infection status (e.g., Plasmodium oocysts in mosquito midguts) even when no external symptoms are present.