Contagious redirects here. For the Isley Brothers song of that name, see Contagious (song).

A disease is an abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress to the person afflicted or those in contact with the person. Sometimes the term is used broadly to include injuries, disabilities, syndromes, infections, symptoms, deviant behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts these may be considered distinguishable categories.

Pathology is the study of diseases. The subject of systematic classification of diseases is referred to as nosology. The broader body of knowledge about human diseases and their treatments is medicine. Many similar (and a few of the same) conditions or processes can affect animals (wild or domestic). The study of diseases affecting animals is veterinary medicine. Plants as well can suffer from a variety of processes such as infection, nutrient deficiency, or deleterious mutation. The study of diseases affecting plants is termed plant pathology.

More on [ Disease ]

National Institutes of Health (NIH) News Releases

NHLBI Stops Enrollment in Study on Resuscitation Methods for Cardiac Arrest
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:31:00 -0500
Enrollment has ended early in a large, multicenter clinical trial comparing two distinct resuscitation strategies delivered by emergency medical service (EMS) providers to increase blood flow during cardiac arrest. The study's independent monitoring board and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), the lead sponsor of the study, stopped enrollment based on preliminary data suggesting that neither strategy significantly improved survival. One strategy compared different durations of manual cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) by EMS providers before they assessed whether defibrillation was needed, and the other strategy tested the potential benefits and risks of an investigational device to maintain pressure in the chest during CPR.
NIDA Launches New Substance Abuse Resources to Help Fill Gaps in Medical Education
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:01:00 -0500
The rigors of medical training sharpen a doctor's ability to diagnose and treat a wide variety of human afflictions. However, drug abuse and addiction are often insufficiently covered in medical school curricula, despite the fact that drug use affects a wide range of health conditions and drug abuse and addiction are themselves major public health issues.
Researchers Discover Mutations in Two Genes that Cause Early-Onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease
Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:15:00 -0500
An international team including researchers with the National Institutes of Health has discovered that mutations in either of two related genes cause a severe and rare form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in young children.

CNN.com - Health

Treating trauma victims may cause its own trauma
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:24:11 -0500
As they listen to tales of life's worst moments, they may absorb some of their patients' suffering. Who protects the mental health of our mental health professionals?
Study: Holocaust survivors have higher cancer risk
Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:47:57 -0500
Many Jews lived through extreme hunger, mental duress and near-death experiences during the Holocaust. Now -- decades after the war -- they face another peril: a higher risk of developing cancer.

Subscribe to Conditions_and_Diseases RSS feed