Root of the Week: PATH (Thursday)

THURSDAY  Pathogen (noun)

The root word “gen” refers to something that causes or produces something.  So a pathogen is a microscopic organism causes or produces disease in a person, animal, or plant.  Viruses, some bacteria, some fungi, and parasites are all pathogens.  Before the advent of modern medicine, people sometimes believed that diseases like cholera were caused by “miasma,” or “bad air.” Once germ theory arose, however, germs, rather than miasmas, were recognized as the pathogens responsible for many illnesses.