pathofiziológia

Pathofiziológia, or pathophysiology, is the branch of medical science that studies the functional changes that accompany disease or abnormal conditions. It aims to explain how disruptions in normal physiological processes lead to signs, symptoms, and disease progression.

The field integrates physiology, pathology, biochemistry, immunology, pharmacology, and genetics to understand disease mechanisms at molecular, cellular, organ, and system levels. It provides a framework for clinical reasoning by linking observed symptoms to underlying functional abnormalities, aiding in diagnosis, prognosis, and the identification of therapeutic targets. Pathophysiology covers a wide range of domains, including cardiovascular, metabolic, infectious, neurological, respiratory, endocrine, and oncologic processes.

Methods and approaches in pathophysiology include clinical observation, laboratory testing, imaging, and tissue studies, as well as experimental models and computational analyses. The discipline emphasizes mechanisms such as disruption of homeostasis, inflammatory and immune responses, metabolic dysfunction, and organ failure, along with compensatory or decompensatory adaptations that influence disease course and treatment responses.

In medical education, pathophysiology serves as a bridge between basic science and clinical practice, helping students understand how diseases alter function and how interventions aim to restore balance. Its historical roots lie in concepts of homeostasis advanced by Claude Bernard and later elaborated by Walter Cannon, with contemporary work incorporating systems biology and translational research to inform diagnosis, management, and drug development.