illness

illness /ill·ness/ (il´nes) disease.

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emotional illness  a colloquialism for mental disorder, but not usually including mental retardation or mental disorders with a specific, known, organic etiology.

mental illness  see under disorder.

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ill·ness (lns)

n.

Disease of body or mind; poor health; sickness.

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illness,

n 1. sickness or disorder.
2. malady of either body or mind the symptoms of which may be physically unobservable. Within general medical practice,
disease is nearly synonomous; however, illness has a more general connotation encompassing the subjective aspects of the patient as a whole rather than just physical or diagnostic symptoms; thus an alternative medical practitioner may prefer to treat illness rather than only the disease. See also disease and complaint.

illness, acute,

n illness with swift beginning and rapid course.

illness, layers of,

n.pl in homeopathy, multiple sets of symptoms in chronic disease, where as one set is cured with a specific remedy, the next set is revealed requiring a different remedy. See also symptoms, alternating; metastasis; suppression; and syndrome shift.

illness, level of,

n the depth of disease manifestation in an individual. The deepest level affects the person's integrity and creativity and major vital organs. See also direction of cure, syndrome shift and symptoms, hierarchy of.

illness, onset of,

n the pattern of situations and symptoms of the illness that is often crucial for determining the beginning or start of the condition. See also biopathography, etiological factor, causality, occasion, pathogenesis, and precipitating factor.

illnesses, environmental,

n.pl adverse health effects that result from exposure to chemical toxins found in the environment, such as heavy metals, pesticides, and solvents. Include disorders of the endocrine, immune, and neurological systems.

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illness

a subjective state in a human marked by feelings of deviation from the normal healthy state; a term not thought to be applicable to animals.