In common usage, a disease is any abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort or dysfunction. Often used metaphorically for pathological conditions of other things, as in disease of society. Stricter medical usage sometimes distinguishes a disease, which has a known specific cause or causes (called its etiology), from a syndrome, which is a collection of symptoms that often occur together but for which there is no known cause. Also, many medical terms that describe symptoms are often called "diseases", especially when the cause of the symptom is unknown.

The largest and best-known category, infectious diseases are those caused by transmissible infectious agents such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, viruses, and prions. Closely related though not infectious diseases in the strictest sense are parasitic diseases caused by protozoa and worms. There are also genetic diseases caused by the presence or absence of genes in the affected person's DNA; toxic diseases caused by exposure to environmental toxins such as heavy metals; nutritional diseases caused by lack or deficiency in certain nutrients; conditions caused by injury, malformation, or disuse of parts of the body; autoimmune diseases caused by immune system attacks on the body's own tissue; diseases caused by the patient's own beliefs; and diseases causes by combinations of these, and of course totally unknown causes.

• Infectious diseases
  • cholera, dysentery, influenza, malaria, tuberculosis, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, bubonic plague, smallpox, Rift Valley fever, Chagas disease, Ebola, Lassa fever, severe acute respiratory syndrome
  • sexually transmitted diseases, AIDS
• Genetic diseases
  • cystic fibrosis, homocystinuria, Huntingtons chorea, muscular dystrophy, phenylketonuria, porphyria, sickle-cell anemia, Tay-Sachs disease, thalassaemia, Down syndrome, color blindness, some forms of vasovagal syncope, von Hippel-Lindau disease, ...
• Conditions of injury, malformation, or disuse
  • stroke, atherosclerosis, atrophy, myopia, osteoarthritis, ...
• Autoimmune disorders
  • rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes, scleroderma, myasthenia gravis

• Toxic diseases
  • argyria, alcoholic hepatitis, iron poisoning, lead poisoning, ...
• Nutritional diseases
  • beriberi, rickets, scurvy, iron-deficiency anemia, ... (see also vitamins and dietary minerals)
• Endocrine diseases
• Syndromes and diseases of unknown etiology, or of mixed causes
  • Alzheimers disease, cancer, hypoglycemia, chronic fatigue syndrome, acquired neuromyotonia (Isaac's syndrome), Guillain-Barre syndrome, Stevens-Johnson syndrome, Meniere's disease
• Neurological disorders and mental illnesses
  • schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, eating disorders, dementia
• Psychogenic illness
  • multiple chemical sensitivity, mass sociogenic illness, ...
• Conditions
  • psoriasis, poison ivy rash, etc.

The World Health Organization publishes a comprehensive list of diseases known as International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD).

See also:

• List of diseases for a list of common, or diseases.
• List of rare diseases for a huge list of 6000+ diseases, many very rare.

External links

• Center for Disease Control Health Topics A-Z, fact sheets about many common diseases
• The Merck Manual, detailed description of most diseases, freely searchable online.
• MedLine Plus Health Topics, descriptions of most diseases, with access to current research articles.
• What is degenerative disease?: A look into the nutritional deficiency aspect of degenerative disease