Relating to the study of the causes or origins of diseases, problems, or phenomena.
From Greek aitia (cause) + -logia (study of) + -ical (adjective suffix). The term entered English through medical and scientific terminology in the 17th century.
An aetiological investigation is like detective work for disease—you're tracing backward from the symptoms to find the culprit that started everything, whether it's a virus, a toxin, or bad luck.
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