Each week, Verywell explains a term from health, medicine, science, or technology.
Etiology
How to say it:Etiology(eye-tee-oh-low-gee)
What it means: The cause of a disease or condition.
Where it comes from: From Greek,αἰτιολογία, “causes.”
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For example, they might explain that the reason you have the flu is thatyou caught the influenza virusthat is going around this year. The virus is the cause of your illness.
When you might want to use it: Sometimes, the reason or cause of a condition that you have is more complicated. If you’re talking with your loved ones about why you are sick, it might help to explain what etiology means and how it relates to your condition—especially if several factors were involved.
For example, ifyou have cancer, the etiology of the disease is a combination of your genes (which have changes in them that made you more likely to have a type of cancer) and certain things in your life that might have made it more likely to happen (for example, you smoke cigarettes).
Why People Who Don’t Smoke Get Lung Cancer
SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster.Definition of etiology.National Cancer Institute. Dictionary of Cancer Terms.Definition of etiology.
Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Merriam-Webster.Definition of etiology.National Cancer Institute. Dictionary of Cancer Terms.Definition of etiology.
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Merriam-Webster.Definition of etiology.National Cancer Institute. Dictionary of Cancer Terms.Definition of etiology.
Merriam-Webster.Definition of etiology.
National Cancer Institute. Dictionary of Cancer Terms.Definition of etiology.
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