ADVANCED NURSING PRACTICE
UNIT-V BIO-PSYCHO SOCIAL PATHOLOGY
Pathophysiology and Psychodynamics of disease causation
Pathophysiology versus Pathology
The terms pathology andpathophysiology are most of the
time misused and interchanged. Both terms refer to the
study of disease, but pathology and pathophysiology are
different. PATHOLOGY is applied to the work of
pathologist and physicians whose focus is on the
PHYSICAL CHANGES present in diseased organs and
tissues. These physical changes are studied by obtaining
specimens. Such specimens are obtained post-mortem
or following after death.
PATHOPHYSIOLOGY, on the other hand, focuses on the
ABNORMAL FUNCTIONING of diseased organs with
application to medical procedures and patient care. It
studies the changes of normal mechanical, physical and
biochemical functions which are either caused by
a diseaseor from an abnormal syndrome.
The study of pathology and pathophysiology often
overlap in diseases and processes. However, pathology
emphasizes direct observations
while pathophysiologyemphasizes quantifiable
