Pathoplasticity

Nathalie Szilagyi, Margaret S. Chisolm, M.D.
Pathoplasticity is a topic covered in the Johns Hopkins Psychiatry Guide.

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DEFINITION

  • Pathoplasticity is the “variability in a symptom’s specific form and content, shaped by events in a patient’s life.”[1]
  • Pathoplastic features are differentiated from pathognomonic features, which are specifically distinctive or characteristic of a disease or pathologic condition.
    • The clinician can make a diagnosis based on pathognomonic signs and symptoms, but pathoplastic features by definition can vary between individuals with the same diagnosis.

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DEFINITION

  • Pathoplasticity is the “variability in a symptom’s specific form and content, shaped by events in a patient’s life.”[1]
  • Pathoplastic features are differentiated from pathognomonic features, which are specifically distinctive or characteristic of a disease or pathologic condition.
    • The clinician can make a diagnosis based on pathognomonic signs and symptoms, but pathoplastic features by definition can vary between individuals with the same diagnosis.

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Last updated: January 29, 2017