| 1. | the branch of medicine dealing with the effects of the environment on human health, esp.the physical, mental, and emotional responses to environmental factors. |
| 2. | the study of the causes of disease in an environmental context, and the development of methods of detection, control, and prevention of environmentally related disease. |
| clinical ecology n. The study of the effects of environmental exposure to synthetic chemicals on the immune system. Also called environmental medicine. |
| environmental medicine n. See clinical ecology. |