patologico

Patologico is a Spanish adjective used to describe anything related to pathology or to disease, and more broadly to conditions that are abnormal or deviant. The term derives from the Greek pathos, meaning suffering, and the suffix -logia, meaning study. In everyday language it can qualify processes, phenomena or behaviors that are markedly abnormal. The cognate English term is pathological.

In medicine, patologico relates to pathology, the discipline that studies disease mechanisms, causes and effects, as well as the structural and functional changes that diseases produce. Expressions such as estado patológico, hallazgos patológicos and pruebas patológicas are used to refer to disease states, tissue alterations or diagnostic tests like biopsies. Pathology as a field includes anatomical pathology, clinical pathology and subdisciplines such as molecular pathology.

In psychology and psychiatry, patologico describes behaviors or mental states considered maladaptive, excessive or irrational, for example celos patológicos or consumo patológico de sustancias. It denotes severity or abnormality but is not a stand-alone diagnosis; professionals assess underlying etiologies and contexts.

In common usage, patologico can also convey a high degree of intensity or abnormality in a figurative sense. Care is needed because describing a person as patológico can carry stigmatizing implications; precision and context matter, especially in clinical or research settings.

See also patología, patología clínica, patología molecular, and related terms. The concept appears across medical, scientific and cultural contexts, with nuance differing by whether it indicates disease, abnormality, or extreme behavior.