Medical Dictionary
Main Entry:
dis·ease Pronunciation:
diz-'Ez Function:
noun : an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or plant body or one of its partsthat interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms,bacteria, or viruses), to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors
: SICKNESS,
ILLNESS called also
morbus; —compare
HEALTH 1 —dis·eased /-'Ezd/ adjective