General pathology- is concerned with the basic reactions of cells and tissues to injurious stimuli.

Systemic or special pathology -is the application of these basic reactions to the various body systems, or to various specific diseases five aspects of a disease process: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) its cause (aetiology), the mechanisms of its development (pathogenesis) structural changes produced in cells and organs (morphological changes) the functional consequences of the morphological changes (clinical significance) result or termination.

Cause (Aetiology): There are two major classes of aetiological factors: genetic (intrinsic) and acquired (extrinsic) (infectious, nutritional, chemical, physical, etc.). However, the concept of "one cause one disease" is no longer adequate. Genetic factors clearly affect environmentally induced diseases, and the environment may have profound influence on certain genetic diseases. Symptom -is a clinical sign (fever, swelling, diarrhoea, vomiting, lameness, etc.) manifested by the individual as the result of tissue changes. Clinical pathology -involves use of laboratory methods by clinicians to help them in arriving at a diagnosis. It includes the examination of blood, urine, faeces, exudates, skin scrapings, and biopsy material. Diagnosis -is the art or act of identifying a disease from its signs and symptoms, and also through various laboratory tests. Prognosis -is a knowing beforehand (L. & G. pro = before + gnos = to know), or foreknowledge of the chances of recovery. Result or termination: It occurs in three ways: (1) recovery, (2) death, and (3) invalidism. Macroscopic or gross pathology- is examination of tissue without the help of a microscope. Microscopic pathology or histopathology- is examination of tissue with the help of a microscope, and involves the use of stained tissue sections. Chemical pathology- is the study of chemical alterations of the body fluids and tissue that result from disease. Post-mortem- examination is examination of an animal after death to establish a disease, that is, cause of its death. Necropsy- Post-mortem examination of animals and birds Morbid changes- are alterations found in tissues at necropsy as a result of disease.

Biopsy- is examination of tissue removed from the living (G.bios=life) animal to determine the cause of disease. Biopsy is normally performed in a suspected cancer. Syndrome- (G. syn = together + drome = to run) literally means' a running together'. Thus, syndrome refers to a group of symptoms that occur together and characterize a particular abnormality, that is, they are characteristic of a certain disease. Cause (aetiology): Causes are of two types: intrinsic or endogenous, and extrinsic or exogenous. The intrinsic (endogenous) causes of disease, also known as the predisposing factors, are those characteristics (genus, breed, sex, age, etc.) over which an individual has no control and which determine the type of disease present. At the basis of the first three factors, namely, genus, breed, and strain, underlie genetics and heredity. Genus: Examples: Swine fever is a disease of the pig and no other animals are infected with it. Canine distemper is primarily a disease of the dog. It does not affect the horse, cow, sheep, or pig. Breed: Dairy cattle are much more susceptible to diseases than beef cattle. Within the dairy cattle, certain breeds are less resistant to some diseases than others. The same is applicable with certain breeds of dogs. For example, brain tumours are common in the bulldog breeds. The boxer dog has a very high incidence of brain tumours than other breeds. Strain: Certain strains of animals possess unusual resistance to certain diseases. For example, strains of chickens that have unusual resistance to leukosis can be produced, in contrast to other strains which have a very high mortality rate from this disease. Other examples include hernias in pigs, and calves with hydrocephalus (accumulation of fluid in the ventricles of brain). These problems are observed with greater frequency in certain family of animals than others. Age: Certain diseases are found in a definite age group. Tumours are commonly observed in older animals. Likewise, strangles is a disease of young horses. Caecal coccidiosis in the chicken is a disease of young birds. Sex: Reproductive diseases are more common in the female than in the male. Certain diseases (metritis, mastitis, milk fever) are confined to the female. Nephritis in the dog is 2 to 3 times more common in the male than in the female. In cattle, nephritis is more common in the female. Colour: Cancer melanosarcomas are very common in grey and white horses, but very rare in brown or black horses. Animals with non-pigmented skin are much more susceptible to photodynamic diseases. If pigment is present in the skin, it protects the animal by preventing the sunlight from penetrating the skin, thus inhibiting the chemical reaction (see' photosensitization, Chapter 11). Idiosyncrasy is an unusual reaction to some substance. Some animals exhibit an unusual reaction when a drug is administered and may even die, or show serious manifestations of unusual toxicity.

The extrinsic (exogenous) causes of disease are those environmental factors (physical, chemical, thermal, infectious, immunological, nutritional) that are capable of producing disease in the individual.