PATHOGENESIS: CHARACTERISTICS, TYPES AND EXAMPLES - MEDICINE - 2025

Pathogenesis is the word used by science to detail the origin and development of a disease with all the factors included in it (Nature.com, 2017).

The term pathogenesis comes from the Greek páthos, which means suffering and genesis, which means origin. It exposes the way in which etiopathogenic agents -the agents that cause disease- attack the organism.

Flu virus

Specifically, it describes the factors and cellular reactions and other pathological mechanisms that occur in the evolution of a disease. In the disease process, two periods can be described: the prepatogenic and the pathogenic period.

The first occurs before the disease occurs; the person seems healthy but a process of maladjustment is taking place that can lead to illness. In this stage the defenses can cancel the disease process (Jazmin, 2011).

The second is the evolution of the disease from its beginning to the end, either with recovery, disability or death.

There are differences between causal and formal pathogenesis. The causal constitutes the explanation of the disease in terms of cause and effect. Here it is interesting to know why the disease originates.

Formal pathogenesis allows a better understanding of the body's response forms. It makes it possible to define many diseases and makes it easier to discover the causal pathogenesis.

Features of pathogenesis

Pathogenesis describes the set of physical, chemical or biological elements that lead to the generation of a disease and its evolution.

A disease is the modification or change that occurs in the physiological state of one or more parts of the body, for commonly known causes and that are manifested by symptoms and signs almost always characteristic, and whose evolution is more or less predictable (Saludymedicina.info, 2017).

The pathogenesis can be studied from different points of view; from the morphological -as general pathology does- or from the functional -as the physiopathology does-.

Types of pathogenesis

The types of pathogenesis include inflammations, microbial infections, tissue breakdown, and malignancy.

An inflammation is caused by a natural defensive process of the body and in which several systems act.

Microbial infections are caused by microorganisms, which cause multiple diseases by reproducing within the carrier. These microbes can be bacteria, fungi, or viruses.

Almost all diseases are caused by various processes that, if controlled in time, can prevent disease.

Viral pathogenesis

Viral pathogenesis can be understood as the process of generation of any disease caused by the rapid reproduction and dispersal of viral particles.

This type of pathogenesis alters the functioning of the immune system and makes it vulnerable to the presence of external agents other than the original virus.

It is characterized by the participation of two main agents: a virus and a host, the first agent being responsible for affecting the second.

Within this type of pathogenesis, different stages take place, however, there is no specific order for their appearance throughout the process of generation and development of the disease.

What is clear is that viral pathogenesis begins when a virus installs itself in a host body and begins to attack it (Tyler, 2004).

Examples

Every disease requires going through a process of pathogenesis at the time it originates. Below we can see some examples of these processes that allow us to better illustrate this clinical phenomenon:

1 - Stomach disease or infection

When an individual is in perfect health condition, he begins to suffer from acute abdominal pain, and must rush to the bathroom to empty the contents of his stomach, it is said that he is being part of a pathogenesis process.

This process includes the agent or pathogen that triggered the disease and the form or circumstances within which the disease developed.

In the case of stomach pain, it is important to ask about the type of food that was eaten, its cooking status, its hygiene, and the conditions in which it was consumed (Foist, 2017).

Only in this way will it be possible to identify the presence of the pathogenic agent in some of the foods, and avoid repeating the infectious process.

2 - Skin disease

Another example of pathogenesis is skin infections, which are responsible for entering the body through small wounds or dead skin, seeping into the bloodstream and affecting the entire body.

The skin is a thick layer of tissue whose function is to protect the body. When the skin presents a break or irregularity on its surface, various external organisms and agents can enter its interior, causing severe damage.

The skin infection process can be gradual or accelerated, depending on the type of agent that has lodged in it.

However, the pathogenesis processes in the skin are usually visible and unpleasant in appearance, since they can include the appearance of welts, scabs, and the detachment of the superficial cutaneous layers.

3 - Respiratory diseases

The pathogenesis process can also be evidenced in respiratory tract disorders.

When this happens, easily recognizable symptoms appear, such as excessive mucus production, congestion of the respiratory tract, the presence of a cough, decreased lung capacity, among others.

In this case, the intensity of the pathologies that develop and affect the respiratory system can vary widely.

Therefore, a pathogenic process can be seen both in the evolution of influenza, and in the development and contagion of acute pneumonia.

References

1. Foist, L. (2017). com. Retrieved from Pathogenesis: Definition & Example: study.com
2. Jazmin, ML (September 28, 2011). Nurse's blog. Obtained from Natural History of the Disease: enferlic.blogspot.com.co
3. com. (2017). Obtained from Pathogenesis: nature.com
4. info. (2017). Obtained from Concept of etiology, pathophysiology, semiology and clinical propaedeutics.: saludymedicina.info
5. Tyler, KL (June 2004). Academic Press Encyclopedia of Virology. Obtained from Viral Pathogenesis: