étiologies

Étiologies is the plural form of etiology, a term used across disciplines to denote the causes or origins of phenomena, conditions, or events. The word comes from Greek roots meaning “cause” and “study of,” and it is often used to distinguish the source of something from its effects or mechanisms.

In medicine, etiologies refer to the causes of diseases or medical syndromes. They can be infectious agents (such as bacteria or viruses), genetic or developmental abnormalities, environmental exposures, immune or metabolic disorders, or lifestyle factors. Many conditions have multifactorial etiologies, where several factors interact to produce disease. Clinicians distinguish known etiologies from idiopathic conditions, where no cause has yet been identified, and from iatrogenic etiologies, which arise as unintended consequences of medical treatment or procedures. Understanding etiologies is essential for prevention, diagnosis, and targeted therapy and is complemented by studies of pathogenesis, which describe the biological mechanisms by which a cause leads to disease.

Beyond medicine, etiologies also appear in anthropology, folklore, and linguistics, where they describe explanations for the origins of customs, places, or names. Etiological myths, for example, offer culturally transmitted accounts of how features of the world came to be. In scientific inquiry more broadly, identifying etiologies involves evidence assessment, causal inference, and the careful consideration of alternative explanations. As knowledge advances, etiologies may be revised or refined, reflecting new data and methods.