Dec 7, 2004 23:03
19 yrs ago
7 viewers *
English term
clinical versus ... pathological?
English
Medical
Medical (general)
clinical deterioration (after reduction of a medicine).
Is "clinical" generally used as an antonym for pathological? Does it refer to the health of a patient while in a clinic...
Is "clinical" generally used as an antonym for pathological? Does it refer to the health of a patient while in a clinic...
Responses
Responses
+6
30 mins
Selected
clinical vs biological
clinical is what you see on the patient himself, eg fever, rash so forth.
as opposed to what lab tests tell you.
hth
as opposed to what lab tests tell you.
hth
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
7 mins
quick answer - "clinical"
No, they do not have to be in a clinic. It just means that their symptoms (whatever they were) got worse, or that the patient's health deteriorated after the medicine was reduced.
I have to admit that I couldn't really tell you the difference in this case; I think that you could use either, as they seem to be interchangeable in this context. Someone with more medical experience would be able to tell you for sure, though!
I have to admit that I couldn't really tell you the difference in this case; I think that you could use either, as they seem to be interchangeable in this context. Someone with more medical experience would be able to tell you for sure, though!
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Hervé du Verle
: Clinical only refers to the signs and symptoms, "clinically" observed by the physician
1 hr
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disagree |
cmorin
: Not necessarily the physician alone. Excuse me answerer you are right. My error, the response is to Herve above, and does not follow protocol, sorry.
18 hrs
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That wasn't me who said that!
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+1
20 mins
see explanation
clinical = as can be observed by a doctor; clinical signs e.g. temperature, palour, responsiveness, etc.
pathological = that shows signs of a pathology, a disease, a sickness
I hope that helps
pathological = that shows signs of a pathology, a disease, a sickness
I hope that helps
Peer comment(s):
neutral |
Alexander Demyanov
: clinical signs can be signs of a disease, a sickness, so in your explanation there's little diff
21 mins
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yes, they can; they are observable signs; the diffenrence is the referential point of view
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agree |
Lisa Frideborg Eddy (X)
9 hrs
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thank you
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neutral |
cmorin
: The clinical deterioration is pathological. Although the deterioration is due to a reduction in medication. The fact that the person is ill, is pathological. A pathology is a disease. This person has a pathology. His condition is pathological.
18 hrs
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not necessarily; in the context provided, the observed deterioration is attributed to a change in medication
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+1
1 hr
objective versus disease
Clinical is not an anthonim for pathological. Clinical means observed objectively. Pathological means that shows or causes a disease. So you could say my clinical experience let me know that his case is pathological. Meaning objectively I know his case represents a disease.
Peer comment(s):
agree |
mportal
: exactly. Pathological refers to disease. Clinical symptoms could relate to, say, a dislocated shoulder, sprained ankle etc.
9 hrs
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neutral |
cmorin
: Actually symptoms are complaints elicited by the patient. For example, in the case of a sprained ankle this would be pain, or inability to walk. Whereas the sign would be a swollen ankle, or redness. All this would be pathological.
16 hrs
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18 hrs
Deterioration in health appearance
Clinical is not an antonym for pathological. Furthermore, "clinical" does not necessarily refer to the health of the person while in clinic. In your phrase, all it means is that the apparent health (that which you can observe) of the person deteriorated after medication was reduced. Do not place too much emphasis on the term clinical.
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Note added at 18 hrs 18 mins (2004-12-08 17:22:16 GMT)
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By apparent health I mean that which you can observe or hear from the person deteriorated.
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Note added at 18 hrs 18 mins (2004-12-08 17:22:16 GMT)
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By apparent health I mean that which you can observe or hear from the person deteriorated.
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