path-, patho-, -path-, -pathia, -pathic, -pathology, -pathetic, -pathize, -pathy

(Greek: feeling, sensation, perception; suffering, disease, or disorder; a system of treating diseases)

In medicine, some of these elements usually mean "someone who suffers from a disease of, or one who treats a disease"; so, they should not be confused with the words that mean "feeling" which are also shown on these pages even though both meanings come from the same Greek element.

neuropathy (s) (noun), neuropathies (pl)
1. A functional disturbance or pathological change in the peripheral nervous system, sometimes limited to noninflammatory lesions as opposed to those of neuritis: Typical symptoms of neuropathy are related to the type of affected nerve. If a sensory nerve is damaged, common symptoms include numbness, tingling in the area, a prickling sensation, or pain.
2. An abnormality, malfunction, or disease of the nervous system: Pain associated with neuropathy can be very intense and may be cutting, stabbing, crushing, or burning.
neuropsychopathy (s) (noun), neuropsychopathies (pl)
An emotional illness of neurologic and functional origin: Neuropsychopathy can also be described as being a mental ailment indicated by a disease of the sensory and control system that contain a network of nerve cells in a person's body.
neuroretinopathy (s) (noun), neuroretinopathies (pl)
A disease of the optic disk and retina: One example of neuroretinopathy is the swelling of the optic disk and formation of serous and fibrinous precipitates in the retina, occurring in severe hypertension.
nostopathy (s) (noun) (no pl)
A rarely used term for a mental illness whereby the subject has a fear of returning to familiar places: Jack was informed of the possibility of nostopathy when going back home after completing his prison sentence.
oculopathy (s) (noun), oculopathyies (pl)
Any eye ailment: Lynn was told by her doctor that she had a kind of oculopathy called macula degeneration which was an age-related and progressive illness of the eyes in which she would gradually lose the central part of the field of her vision.
odontopathy (s) (noun), odontopathies (pl)
Any disease affecting the teeth or their sockets: Greg's teeth were hurting him quite a bit, and his dentist informed him that he had odontopathy, which meant that he would have to have one of his teeth extracted ro prevent further infections.
onychopathic (adjective) (not comparable)
A reference to any disease of the fingernail or toenails: Joe learned that onychopathic disorders could be caused by having contact with irritants or toxics, for example.
onychopathology (s) (noun) (no pl)
The study of disorders of the nails; onychology: Jill read that the outdated term onychopathology, relating to the science of finger and toe nails, was not used any more in the working medical language.

The dermatologist that Mary went to said that the formal discipline of onychopathology did research in the past on the kind of ailment she had regarding her nails becoming dry, yellowish, and cracking.

onychopathy (s) (noun), onychopathies (pl)
Any disease of the fingernails and toenails; onychosis: Grace's mother had deformed toenails which caused her much pain, and her dermatologist informed her that she had a case of onychopathy that should be treated right away.
oophoropathy (s) (noun), oophoropathies (pl)
An outdated term for an ailment of the ovary: An oophoropathy, a general term a for an ovarial disorder, can be a tumor which then must be surgically removed.
ophthalmopathy (s) (noun), ophthalmopathies (pl)
Any disease of the eyes; oculopathy: One example of an ophthalmopathy is Grave's ophthalmopathy, also known as thyroid eye disease.
orchidopathic (adjective) (not comparable)
Concerning a disease of the testicles: After Greg was at Dr. Gilroy's clinic for his yearly check-up, he was notified later that he had an orchidopathic tumor that had to be surgically removed as quickly as possible.
orchidopathy, orchiopathy (s) (noun); orchidopathies; orchiopathies (pl)
A disease of the testis; testopathy: Orchidopathy can occur in boys who are still growing, or in men who have an unusual condition of the testicles.
organopathy (s) (noun), organopathies (pl)
1. A disease that is associated with only one organ of the body: Jack was told that the ailment he had only related to his right eye, and not to any other part of his body and was called organopathy.
2. A homeopathic belief that specific cures function locally in certain organs: Mr. Black was hoping that the medicine he was taking would only affect that specific spot where it hurt most, and learned that this theory was termed organopathy.
orthopathy (s) (noun) (no pl)
Alternative medical treatment based on the theory that diseases can be cured or prevented without drugs: Advocates of orthopathy believe that with dieting with raw foods and fasting now and then is a healthy lifestyle to follow.

Quiz You can find self-scoring quizzes over many of the words in this subject area by going to this Vocabulary Quizzes page.