Diseases

DISEASE IS THE pathological process that presents a characteristic group of symptoms and that establishes the condition as an abnormal entity different from either the normal or other pathological body states. Disease is related to the concept of health, which is broadly defined as a state of dynamic balance, in which an individual or group's capacity to cope with the circumstances of living is at an optimal level. The freedom from disease or the risk of contracting one is only part of the modern concept of health, which involves complete physical, mental, and social well-being. The causes of human disease are varied and result from a combination of environmental, genetic, lifestyle, and socioeconomic factors acting over the lifetime of an individual.

This range of factors and ...