What is a disease?: Disease, disability and their definitions

Scully, Jackie Leach

doi:10.1038/sj.embor.7400195

Cited by 202Medicine, History, and PhilosophyPhilosophy and History of ScienceMental Health and Psychiatry

What is a disease?: Disease, disability and their definitions

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Scully, Jackie Leach·2004·The EMBO Reports

DOI 10.1038/sj.embor.7400195PMC PMC1299105

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Disease states are fundamentally defined by their ability to cause illness, intended as both an objective and subjective human experience of ill health, secondary to ongoing alterations in the functioning of organs and tissues.
“Disease states are fundamentally defined by their ability to cause illness, intended as both an objective and subjective human experience of ill health, secondary to ongoing alterations in the functioning of organs and tissues.”
From Definition and diagnostic criteria of clinical obesity (2025) · cites this paper as [19]

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Authors: Scully, J. L.
Affiliations: University of Basel (CH)
Corresponding author: Scully, Jackie Leach
ORCID: Scully, Jackie Leach
Venue: The EMBO Reports
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published: 2004-07-01
Volume: 5
Issue: 7
Pages: 650-653
ISSN: 1469-221X (ISSN-L)
1469-3178
DOI: 10.1038/sj.embor.7400195
PMC: PMC1299105
OpenAlex: W2079205800
Cited by: 195
References: 24
Citations by year: 2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 24 · 2021: 20 · 2020: 19 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 17 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 2
FWCI: 1.88
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: green
europepmc.org
Licence: www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
www.springer.com/tdm (vor)
Locations: EMBO Reports (publishedVersion)
Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Medicine, History, and Philosophy
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › History and Philosophy of Science › Philosophy and History of Science
Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Mental Health and Psychiatry
Keywords: disease definition, disability, illness beliefs
MeSH terms: Chronic Disease, Deafness, Decision Making, Disease, Disabled Persons, Persons with Disabilities, Health, Humans, Terminology as Topic, Social Responsibility, Clinical Medicine, Genetic Predisposition to Disease

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