Idiopathic 545165 220749642 2008-06-21T11:41:31Z DOI bot 6652755 Citation maintenance. Initiated by [[User:Fconaway|Fconaway]]. You can [[WP:DOI|use this bot]] yourself! Please [[User:DOI_bot/bugs|report any bugs]]. '''Idiopathic''' is an adjective used primarily in [[medicine]] meaning ''arising spontaneously'' or ''from an obscure or unknown cause''. From [[Greek (language)|Greek]] ἴδιος, idios (one's own) + παθος, pathos (suffering), it means approximately "a disease of its own kind." It is technically a term from [[nosology]], the classification of [[disease]]. For most medical conditions, one or more causes are somewhat understood, but in a certain percentage of people with the condition, the cause may not be readily apparent or characterized. In these cases, the origin of the condition is said to be "idiopathic." With some medical conditions, the [[medicine|medical community]] cannot establish a root cause for a large percentage of all cases (''e.g.'' [[Focal segmental glomerulosclerosis]], the majority of which are idiopathic);<ref name=Daskalakis_2006>{{cite journal |author=Daskalakis N, Winn M |title=Focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis |journal=Cell Mol Life Sci |volume=63 |issue=21 |pages=2506–11 |year=2006 |pmid=16952054 |doi=10.1007/s00018-006-6171-y}}</ref> with other conditions, however, idiopathic cases account for a small percentage (''e.g.'', [[pulmonary fibrosis]]).<ref name=MLP>{{cite web | title = Medical Encyclopedia: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis | work = MedlinePlus| url = http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000069.htm | accessdate = 2007-02-13}}</ref> As medical and [[science|scientific]] advances are made with relation to a particular condition or disease, more root causes are discovered, and the percentage of cases designated as ''idiopathic'' shrinks. In his book ''The Human Body,'' [[Isaac Asimov]] noted a comment about the term "idiopathic" made in the 20th edition of ''[[Stedman's Medical Dictionary]]'': "A high-flown term to conceal [[ignorance]]." Similarly, in the American television show ''[[House (TV series)|House]]'', the [[Gregory House|title character]] remarks that the word "comes from the [[Latin]], meaning 'we're idiots, because we don't know what's causing it.'" ==See also== *[[Diagnosis of exclusion]] *[[Idiosyncratic drug reaction]] ==References== <!-- --------------------------------------------------------------- See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Footnotes for a discussion of different citation methods and how to generate footnotes using the <ref> & </ref> tags and the {{Reflist}} template -------------------------------------------------------------------- --> {{Reflist}} ==External links== {{wiktionary}} [[Category:Medical terms]] [[Category:Nosology]] {{med-stub}} [[de:Idiopathie]] [[es:Idiopático]] [[fr:Idiopathique]] [[it:Idiopatico]] [[nl:Idiopathisch]] [[no:Idiopatisk]] [[pl:Idiopatyczny]] [[pt:Idiopático]] [[fi:Idiopatia]] [[sv:Idiopatisk]]