Cunliffe J
Scand J Immunol. 2008 Aug;68(2):120-8. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-3083.2008.02130.x. Epub 2008 Jun 28.
A substantial proportion of immunologists, microbiologists and health professionals--and, indeed, many dictionaries--currently regard the term pathogen as a synonym for a pathogenic organism (most often a micro-organism). I will argue that this is a distortion of its original meaning--'a specific causative agent of disease'. An analysis of the historical use of the term pathogen together with a comparison of the meanings of pathogen, pathogenic and pathogenesis suggest that this was an insidious change. It began as a convenient abbreviation, escalated into a misappropriation and is now lodged in bio-medicine's popular lexicon. In science, we should resist the pressures brought about by the mass action of common usage--unless there is a good, logical reason to accept this change. I propose that this common usage results in a distortion and leads to conceptual confusion, particularly when we try to understand the interaction between hosts and invasive organisms. This drift, in which pathogen becomes exclusively a living organism, is corrupting. There is a strong case for correcting and reversing it.
目前，相当一部分免疫学家、微生物学家和健康专业人士——事实上，许多词典也是如此——将“病原体”一词视为致病生物（最常见的是微生物）的同义词。我认为这扭曲了该词的原意——“疾病的特定致病因子”。对“病原体”一词的历史用法进行分析，并将“病原体”“致病的”和“发病机制”的含义进行比较，结果表明这是一种潜移默化的变化。它最初是作为一种方便的缩写出现，后来演变成了一种误用，如今已融入生物医学的常用词汇中。在科学领域，我们应该抵制因普遍用法的大量作用而带来的压力——除非有充分合理的理由接受这种变化。我认为这种普遍用法会导致扭曲并引发概念混乱，尤其是当我们试图理解宿主与入侵生物之间的相互作用时。这种病原体完全变成活体生物的转变具有破坏性。很有必要纠正并扭转这种情况。
