Human Disease

Human Disease Several scientific terms are relatively easy to define, others tend to be more difficult; “health” and “disease” fall under the latter category. Many suggest that “disease” is merely a disorder of a system’s normal functions while “health” is the absence of disease. On the other hand, could a person whose bodily systems are functioning properly but who is unhappy or depressed be considered healthy? Can an alcoholic or drug-addict whose habit has not as yet caused any physical harm be likewise described? Without a doubt, health is more than just a well-being physically; it involves social and mental well-being as well. Health clearly being difficult to define and understand, “disease” is thought to be even more complex. Doctors, scientists, and researchers try enduring the problem in classifying diseases. Although a number of diseases fit neatly and entirely into one category, some seem to belong to more than one group and nevertheless some even combine elements of all types. Having all this in mind, six categories are frequently recognized: infections, inherited, degenerative, mental, human inflicted, and deficiency. From these six categories, “any disease may be acute…or chronic” (Susan 627). When a disease is acute, it means that it may appear suddenly and have a short time period while a disease that is chronic is the total opposite; it may develop slowly and be persistent. A disease may be the result of environmental influences such as radiation or pollution or it may not even have an apparent cause. Other diseases have a serious of risk factors, each factor increasing the chance of developing that illness. Finally, the life-style often impacts greatly on a particular disease. Communicable diseases that can be passed on from one individual to another are known as infections. An infection is a “pathological state resulting from the invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms” (Miller 1), where a pathogen is a microorganism that causes a