etiologiske

Etiologiske is an adjective used in Norwegian to describe matters related to etiology—the study of the causes or origins of diseases or conditions. In medical and epidemiological contexts, etiologiske faktorer are the factors that contribute to the development of a condition. The term emphasizes causal relationships rather than symptoms alone.

Etiology seeks to identify whether an illness has infectious, genetic, congenital, environmental, behavioral, or multifactorial causes. Some diseases have well-established etiologies (for example, the bacterial agent Mycobacterium tuberculosis for tuberculosis), while others have uncertain or debated origins (e.g., many chronic diseases with multifactorial etiologies).

Etiologic classifications can be infectious etiology, genetic or hereditary etiology, autoimmune or immune-mediated etiology, environmental or occupational etiology, nutritional or metabolic etiology, and multifactorial etiology. In research and clinical practice, establishing the etiologie of a condition helps guide diagnosis, prognosis, and prevention strategies.

Note that etiology differs from pathogenesis, which describes the mechanisms by which a cause leads to disease, and from symptomatology, which catalogs observable manifestations. The term etiologiske remains common in Norwegian medical literature when discussing the causes of disease or conditions.

See also etiology.