Biomedical Nosologies Flashcards
What is a nosology? Give some examples
is a formal system for classifying diseases. Diseases can be classified by symptoms (e.g. respiratory diseases), by external causes (e.g. different types of tuberculosis), or by disease mechanisms (the way they work in the body).
Nosologies are particularly important because they are the recognised system for classification – if something is in, then it is a disease with all appropriate support and control mechanisms. If something is out, then it’s not a disease, with few or no supports for the afflicted or control mechanisms. Their decisions come with an automatic legitimacy and thus have very serious and self-perpetuating consequences, particularly in the case of mental illness (the DSM)
What is the implication of categorising a disease into different nosologies?
In terms of ‘official’ recognition and possibly government support or health insurance, the implications of nosology classification are massive. However, the doctor-patient relationship tends to focus on symptoms, so nosologies do not matter as much.
Nosologies attempt to pin diseases down to a particular cause – somewhat overcompensating for the ‘infectious disease model,’ where a disease will have one identified cause. However, most illnesses have many causes. Additionally, while a nosology defines a disease as either valid or not valid, we still tend to treat the symptoms/illness, rather than the causes.
