There are four main types of disease: infectious diseases, deficiency diseases, hereditary diseases (including both genetic and non-genetic hereditary diseases), and physiological diseases. Diseases can also be classified in other ways, such as communicable versus non-communicable diseases.

Jan 22, 2025 · disease, any harmful deviation from the normal structural or functional state of an organism, generally associated with certain signs and symptoms and differing in nature from physical injury. A diseased organism commonly exhibits signs or symptoms indicative of its abnormal state.

Easy-to-understand answers about diseases and conditions. Find out what could be causing your symptoms and when to seek care. Search for clinical trials by disease, treatment, or drug name. Share your experiences and find support in our online communities. Mayo Clinic experts solve the world’s toughest medical problems — one patient at a time.

The meaning of DISEASE is a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms : sickness, malady. How to use disease in a sentence.

In the anatomic classification, disease is categorized by the specific organ or tissue affected; hence, heart disease, liver disease, and lung disease. Medical specialties such as cardiology are restricted to diseases of a single organ, in this case the heart.

DISEASE definition: 1. (an) illness of people, animals, plants, etc., caused by infection or a failure of health rather…. Learn more.

Human disease, an impairment of the normal state of a human being that interrupts or modifies vital functions. Disease may be trivial if the impairment is minimal. It may also be associated with illness or be latent, becoming apparent at some later time.

A disease or medical condition is an unhealthy state where something bad happens to the body or mind. [1] Diseases can cause pain, parts of the body to stop working the right way, or death. The word disease is sometimes used to include: parts of the body being hurt, not having the usual abilities, medical problems or syndromes, infections by ...

At first sight, the answer to “What is a disease?” is straightforward. Most of us feel we have an intuitive grasp of the idea, reaching mentally to images or memories of colds, cancer or tuberculosis.

Jul 22, 2019 · Arthritis is joint inflammation that can cause stiffness or pain. Learn more about the symptoms & treatments. What is atopic dermatitis? It is a skin disease causing much itchiness. Scratching leads to redness, swelling, cracking, weeping clear fluid, crusting, and scaling.