The study of disease causes is known as:

• A. Pathology
• B. Etiology
• C. Caudal
• D. Anatomy

Answer: (B)

Etiology is the study of disease causes. It covers identifying what triggers illness—be it infectious agents like bacteria or viruses, toxins, genetic factors, or immune-mediated processes—and helps explain why a disease occurs. Understanding etiology guides both diagnosis and treatment, and also informs prevention and control efforts. In contrast, pathology is about the body’s changes from disease—the lesions, tissue damage, and functional consequences—rather than the initial cause, while anatomy is simply the study of body structure. Caudal is an anatomical term referring to the tail end and is not a field of disease study.