eksogen

Eksogen is a term derived from the Greek roots “exo‑” meaning “outside” and “‑gen” meaning “produced by.” It is used in several academic disciplines to describe phenomena, substances, or influences that originate outside a given system rather than being generated internally. The word appears mainly in Scandinavian literature, where it is the direct translation of the English adjective “exogenous.”

In biology, eksogen refers to factors such as hormones, nutrients, or pathogens that are introduced from the external environment and affect an organism’s development, metabolism, or disease processes. For example, eksogene toxins are chemicals that enter the body through diet or pollution and can trigger physiological responses.

In economics, the concept is applied to variables that are determined outside the modeled economic system, such as foreign investment flows, weather conditions, or policy decisions made by external authorities. Eksogene shocks, therefore, denote unexpected events that can alter economic equilibrium without being explained by internal market dynamics.

Environmental science employs eksogen to describe external inputs like atmospheric deposition of pollutants, invasive species, or climate‑driven changes that impact ecosystems. The term emphasizes the distinction between internal (endogenous) processes and those driven by outside forces, facilitating clearer analysis across research fields.