systemic

Systemic is an adjective used to describe something that relates to or affects an entire system, rather than a single component. The term derives from the word system with the suffix -ic, and its usage signals breadth, interconnection, or embeddedness within a larger whole. It is commonly applied across disciplines to distinguish widespread, rather than isolated, phenomena.

In medicine and biology, systemic refers to processes that influence the whole body or travel through the bloodstream, as opposed to localized effects confined to one organ or tissue. A systemic disease damages multiple parts of the body, and systemic therapy or systemic administration delivers medications so they circulate throughout the body, rather than acting only at a specific site. Examples include systemic lupus erythematosus and the use of orally or intravenously administered drugs; plants can also be treated with systemic pesticides that are absorbed and distributed through the organism.

In finance and economics, systemic often appears in the phrase systemic risk, which denotes the potential for a disturbance to spread across an entire financial system or market, potentially leading to widespread instability or collapse. This concept emphasizes interconnectedness and the possibility that problems in one area can propagate through networks of institutions and contracts.

In sociology and public policy, systemic racism or systemic inequality describes structural patterns within institutions and social systems that produce and sustain disparities among groups, even without overt intentional discrimination. Addressing such issues typically requires changes to policies, practices, and norms at multiple levels of the system.

In systems theory and management, systemic thinking focuses on interrelationships, feedback loops, and the properties of the whole rather than isolated parts, promoting approaches that consider how changes in one component affect the entire system.