Etiopathogenesis (etiopathogenesis)

The etiopathogenesis is defined as the analysis of the causes and development of a pathology or an abnormal condition. The term derives from the union of "etiology" and "pathogenesis", which in the medical field indicate, respectively, the causal factors (etiology) and the mechanism of onset, and consequent development, of a pathological process (pathogenesis).

The etiopathogenesis can be certain (determinable with accuracy), multifactorial (due to various factors), uncertain, unknown or misunderstood. Most of the most widespread diseases recognize a multifactorial etiopathogenesis, since their origin and development are often due to the interaction of genetic factors (familiarity, heredity, small mutations, etc.) with the very important environmental component (nutrition, physical activity, body weight, smoking habits, stress, alcohol intake, drugs, various types of abuse etc.). The importance of these behavioral factors in the etiopathogenesis of various diseases is underlined by the fact that their expression in homozygous twins (therefore with the same genetic patrimony) can also vary in an important way.