Which of the following best defines the medical suffix -pathy?

• A. Disease or Emotion
• B. Swelling
• C. Infection
• D. Tumor

Answer: (A)

In medical terminology, the suffix -pathy signals a disease or disorder of a body part or system. It comes from a root idea of suffering or illness, and you’ll see it in terms like neuropathy (nerve disease), dermatopathy (skin disease), and cardiopathy (heart disease). Because of that, -pathy points to a medical condition rather than a process like swelling, infection, or a tumor. Swelling would be described with terms related to edema, infection with words ending in -itis or other infection-specific roots, and tumor with -oma. So the definition that best fits -pathy is disease or disorder, making that option the correct choice.