Aetiology

Aetiology is the study of the causes of diseases. It looks at why different illnesses occur and what might cause those illnesses to develop. To understand aetiology, imagine a chain of events – like a chain of paper dolls linked together. When the chain is intact, a person is healthy. But when one or more elements of the chain change, the person may become sick. It is the job of aetiologists to identify the elements that changed and find out what might have caused them to be different from the original chain. Aetiology helps us understand why diseases occur and this knowledge can help us develop treatments and preventive measures for them.