From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia   (Redirected from
Etiological) Jump to: navigation, search  Etiology
(alternatively aetiology, aitiology /tiˈɒləi/) is the study of
causation, or origination. The word is derived from the Greek
αἰτιολογία, aitiologia, "giving a reason for" (αἰτία, aitia,
"cause"; and -λογία, -logia).[1]      In medicine, etiology
refers to the many factors coming together to cause an illness.
It is normally the focus of epidemiological studies. The
etiology of scurvy is a good example. With scurvy, sailors going
to sea often lacked fresh vegetables. Without knowing the
precise cause, Captain James Cook suspected scurvy was caused by
the lack of vegetables in the diet. Based on his suspicion, he
forced his crew to eat sauerkraut, a cabbage preparation, every
day, but he had no idea, precisely, why it prevented scurvy. It
was only about two centuries later - in 1926 that it was
discovered that it was the lack of vitamin C in a sailor's diet
that was the base cause of scurvy.  See also[edit