Monopathy

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A disease that affects just a single organ or isolated part of the body rather than the whole system
2. A medical condition confined to one organ, tissue or localized area instead of spreading throughout the body
3. Illness restricted to one particular organ or region of the body, as opposed to a generalized disorder

Etymology: "Monopathy" is a compound built from two Greek-derived elements: "mono-", meaning "one" or "single," and "-pathy," from Greek "pathos," meaning "suffering," "feeling," or "disease," used in English to name a condition or a method of treatment. Put together, the word denotes the treatment or study of a single disease, or a focus on one ailment at a time. The formation is typical of the medical and scientific vocabulary that English built from classical parts in the modern period, rather than a word inherited from antiquity. Ancient Greek speakers had no term with this exact sense, so the word is a deliberate construction from existing components. Its parts make its meaning transparent: a reader who knows "homeopathy" or "osteopathy" can recognise the "-pathy" ending as a marker of a system of healing or of the disease itself.