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.

pinealopathy (s) (noun), pinealopathies (pl)
A disorder of the pineal gland: A pinealopathy is an ailment or disease of the gland-like structure in the brain which is shaped like a pine cone.
pneumonopathy (s) (noun), pneumonopathies (pl)
Any ailment of the lungs: When the elderly Mr. Hodge couldn't breathe properly anymore, he went to his doctor who diagnosed him as having a condition of pneumonopathy which had to be treated immediately!
podopathy (s) (noun) (no pl)
A nonstandard term for any disease of the foot: Mr. Tall asked his doctor what the causes were for podopathy because his feet were hurting and he was having problems with walking, even when walking a short distance.
polioencephalomyelopathy (s) (noun), polioencephalomyelopathies (pl)
Any pathologic process or disorder of the gray substance of the brain: In his medical studies, Jeff learned that polioencephalomyelopathy was a disease that related to the function predominantly involving the neurons rather than the glia or white matter of the brain and spinal cord.
polioencephalopathy (s) (noun), polioencephalopathies (pl)
Any disease noticeably affecting the gray matter of the brain: It is said that Alzheimer's disease is a form of polioencephalopathy and is connected to the gray matter of a person's brain.
poliomyelopathy (s) (noun), poliomyelopathies (pl)
Any disease primarily affecting the gray matter of the spinal cord: The connection of the gray matter (GM) of the spinal cord with multiple sclerosis (MS) is one example relating to poliomyelopathy.
polyadenopathy, polyadenosis (s) (noun); polyadenopathies; polyadenoses (pl)
Adenopathy affecting many lymph nodes: Jack read in his biology book that polyadenopathy referred to a disease or disorder that involved or concerned multiple lymph nodes in a person's body.
polyendocrinopathy (s) (noun), polyendocrinopathies (pl)
A disease in the immune system that has many characteristics: Polyendocrinopathy is often caused by a shortage or deficiency of of several endocrine glands.
polymyopathy (s) (noun), polymyopathies (pl)
An infection affecting several muscles at the same time: Because June was concerned about a number of muscles hurting her, she went to her doctor who diagnosed the condition as polymyopathy and sent her to a specialist for further examinations.
polyneuropathy (s) (noun), polyneuropathies (pl)
A disease process involving a number of peripheral (away from the center) nerves: Polyneuropathy has been noted in beriberi and chronic alcoholism as a result of a thiamin deficiency.
polypathia (s) (noun), polypathias (pl)
The occurrence, or presence of several diseases at the same time: Dr. Small found it very unusual that Mrs. Thompson had a few infections all at once, and he told her that she had a case of polypathia.
polyradiculopathy (s) (noun), polyradiculopathies (pl)
A diffuse spinal nerve root injury or disease: Polyradiculopathy is the simultaneous irritation and swelling of a large number of the spinal nerves marked by paralysis, pain, and the wasting away of muscles.
ponopathy (s) (noun), ponopathies (pl)
Nervous exhaustion: Ponopathy is characterized by mental or physical fatigue or body weakness after performing, or trying to perform, everyday activities, and includes the inability to recover from that fatigue by normal periods of rest or relaxation.
protopathic (adjective) (not comparable)
Referring to the sense of pressure, pain, heat, or cold in a general manner, usually without localizing the stimulus: Protopathic sensitiveness refers to the sensory nerves in the skin with a primary, grosser, or more limited sensibility to stimuli.

A protopathic sensitivity refers to the deep pain sensations and marked variations in temperature, such as hot and cold, as distinguished from "epicritic sensibility", or the sensibility to gentle stimulations permitting fine discriminations of touch and temperature as localized in the skin.

psychopath (s) (noun), psychopaths (pl)
1. A person affected with an antisocial (psychopathic) personality disorder; a mental disease: A psychopath can be characterized with lying, manipulating, exploiting, arrogance, sexual promiscuity, callousness, and a lack of remorse, among various other characteristics.
2. An individual diagnosed with a mentally disordered or abnormal personality: A psychopath has an antisocial type of personality disorder, which is also known as "anethopath" or "sociopath".

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