Types and Classifications of Disease

Disease. noun.
dis·ease | \ di-ˈzēz \
: an illness that affects a person, animal, or plant : a condition that prevents the body or mind from working normally
infectious/contagious diseases He suffers from a rare genetic disease. (Merriam Webster, 2022)
types of diseases.
Our body exhibits signs of discomfort in the event of getting inflicted by any disease. These
signs are called symptoms. In some diseases, symptoms can appear right from the time of
inception while in some other medical conditions, symptoms show up significantly at a
much later stage. There are 4 main types of diseases. (Noukhan A., 2020)
1. Infectious Diseases
• These are the diseases caused by microorganisms such as fungi, virus,
bacteria, protozoans or parasites. Microbes are usually found on our
body but under unfavourable conditions may turn harmful.
• They can be communicated – from person to person, through insect

bites or animals, from mother to fetus, ingestion of contaminated
water or food, or exposure to infected air.
2. Hereditary Diseases
• They are caused by an irregularity in the genetic makeup of an
individual, the abnormality can range from miniature up till major. It
could be a distinct mutation in a particular base of the DNA of a single
gene to a deformity of the whole chromosome which would involve
the inclusion or exclusion of a set of chromosomes or the whole
chromosome.
• Examples of hereditary diseases are: Cystic Fibrosis, Haemophilia,

Thalassemia, Down’s syndrome, and Huntington’s disease
3. Deficiency Diseases
• These are diseases caused due to insufficient supply of dietary
elements, precisely, vitamins and minerals. The food we consume
needs to have a good balance of all the nutrients. However, the modern
diet lacks nutrients, causing deficiencies in the body. These
deficiencies can be caused due to a lack of the following essential
nutrients:
• Calcium deficiency, Iodine deficiency, Iron deficiency, Vitamin B12

deficiency, Vitamin D deficiency, Magnesium deficiency, and Vitamin
A deficiency
4. Physiological Diseases
• It is a disorder of the function of tissues or structure of organs and
tissues. It is a condition where organs of the body breakdown, causing
illness in the body.
• These diseases are caused when the normal functioning of the body is
affected because of the inability of the organs to perform their functions
or alteration in the cellular structures of the body over a period of time.
• Examples of these diseases are – Haemochromatosis, iron deficiency

anaemia etc.
Classifications of diseases.
The most widely used classifications of disease are (1) topographic, by bodily region or system, (2)
anatomic, by organ or tissue, (3) physiological, by function or effect, (4) pathological, by the nature
of the disease process, (5) etiologic (causal), (6) juristic, by speed of advent of death, (7)
epidemiological, and (8) statistical. Any single disease may fall within several of these
classifications. (Britannica)
1. Topographic
• diseases are subdivided into such categories as gastrointestinal disease,
vascular disease, abdominal disease, and chest disease.
• Topgraphy (tō-pog'ră-fē), In anatomy, the description of any part of

the body, especially in relation to a definite and limited area of the
surface.
2. Anatomic
• In the anatomic classification, disease is categorized by the specific
organ or tissue affected; hence, heart disease, liver disease, and lung
disease. Medical specialties such as cardiology are restricted to
diseases of a single organ, in this case the heart.
• Disease often affects anatomy, and changes in anatomy can cause

disease. If the blood supply to a tissue is blocked or cut off, the tissue
dies (called infarction), as in a heart attack.
3. Physiological
• The physiological classification of disease is based on the underlying
functional derangement produced by a specific disorder. Included in this
classification are such designations as respiratory and metabolic disease.
• Respiratory diseases are those that interfere with the intake and
expulsion of air and the exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide in the
lungs.
• Metabolic diseases are those in which disturbances of the body’s

chemical processes are a basic feature. Diabetes and gout are examples.
4. Pathological
• The pathological classification of disease considers the nature of the
disease process.
• Neoplastic and inflammatory disease are examples. Neoplastic disease

includes the whole range of tumors, particularly cancers, and their
effect on human beings.
• A disease may have one or more etiologies (initial causes, including

agents, toxins, mutagens, drugs, allergens, trauma, or genetic
mutations). A disease is expected to follow a particular series of events
in its development (pathogenesis), and to follow a particular clinical
course (natural history).
5. Etiologic
• It is important to know, for example, what kinds of disease
staphylococci produce in human beings. It is well known that they
cause skin infections and pneumonia, but it is also important to note
how often they cause meningitis, abscesses in the liver, and kidney
infections.
• The sexually transmitted diseases syphilis and gonorrhea are further

examples of diseases classified by etiology.
6. Juristic
• The juristic basis of the classification of disease is concerned with the
legal circumstances in which death occurs. It is principally involved
with sudden death, the cause of which is not clearly evident.
• “A person living alone is found dead in bed—dead of natural causes or

killed? Had the person who dropped dead on the street been given
some poison that took a short time to act?”
• Much less dramatic, but perhaps more common, are disease and death
caused by exposure of the individual to some unrecognized danger to
health in working or living conditions.
7. Epidemiological
• The epidemiological classification of disease deals with the incidence,
distribution, and control of disorders in a population. To use the example
of typhoid, a disease spread through contaminated food and water, it first
becomes important to establish that the disease observed is truly caused by
Salmonella typhi, the typhoid organism.
• Yellow fever, smallpox, measles, and polio are prime examples of

epidemics that occurred throughout American history. Notably, an
epidemic disease doesn't necessarily have to be contagious. For example,
West Nile fever and the rapid increase in obesity rates are also considered
epidemics.
8. Statistic
• The statistical basis of classification of disease employs analysis of the
incidence (the numbers of new cases of a specific disease that occur
during a certain period) and the prevalence rate (number of cases of a
disease in existence at a certain time) of diseases.
• These studies, as well as epidemiological, nutritional, and pathological

analyses, have made it clear, for example, that diet is an important
consideration in the possible causation of atherosclerosis.

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Disease. noun.

• They can be communicated – from person to person, through insect

• Examples of hereditary diseases are: Cystic Fibrosis, Haemophilia,

• Calcium deficiency, Iodine deficiency, Iron deficiency, Vitamin B12

• Examples of these diseases are – Haemochromatosis, iron deficiency

• Topgraphy (tō-pog'ră-fē), In anatomy, the description of any part of

• Disease often affects anatomy, and changes in anatomy can cause

• Metabolic diseases are those in which disturbances of the body’s

• Neoplastic and inflammatory disease are examples. Neoplastic disease

• A disease may have one or more etiologies (initial causes, including

• The sexually transmitted diseases syphilis and gonorrhea are further

• “A person living alone is found dead in bed—dead of natural causes or

• Yellow fever, smallpox, measles, and polio are prime examples of

• These studies, as well as epidemiological, nutritional, and pathological

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