Spranger J
Universitätskinderklinik Mainz.
Monatsschr Kinderheilkd. 1989 Jan;137(1):2-7.
A brief review is given of the historical and modern use of the terms "disease," "syndrome," and "symptom complex." In the old use, notably the Greek school of empirics, phenotype and disease were thought to be almost synonymous; then Thomas Sydenham added etiology and pathogenesis as defining criteria. Today the terms "disease," "syndrome," and "symptom complex" are used to signal varying degrees of medical knowledge and thus direct medical activity. In accordance with modern trends, a "disease" is understood as an etiologically und pathogenetically defined entity, a "syndrome" as an etiologically defined entity of unknown pathogenesis, and a "sequence" as an etiologically heterogeneous but pathogenetically defined disorder. None of these terms should be used for "symptom complexes," i.e., for causally undefined or heterogeneous phenotypes.
本文简要回顾了“疾病”“综合征”和“症状复合体”这些术语的历史及现代用法。在过去，尤其是希腊经验主义学派，表型和疾病被认为几乎是同义词；后来托马斯·西德纳姆增加了病因学和发病机制作为定义标准。如今，“疾病”“综合征”和“症状复合体”这些术语用于表明不同程度的医学知识，从而指导医疗活动。按照现代趋势，“疾病”被理解为病因学和发病机制明确的实体，“综合征”是病因明确但发病机制未知的实体，“序列”是病因异质性但发病机制明确的病症。这些术语都不应被用于“症状复合体”，即因果关系不明确或异质性的表型。
