Disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

s, disorders,

infection An infection is the invasion of tissues by pathogens, their multiplication, and the reaction of host tissues to the infectious agent and the toxins they produce. An infectious disease, also known as a transmissible disease or communicable dise ...

s, and

pathogen In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...

s have appeared in

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

as part of a major plot or thematic importance. They may be fictional

psychological disorder A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitti ...

s, magical, from

mythological Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving Magic (supernatural), magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy ...

settings, have evolved naturally, been

genetically modified Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the gene ...

(most often created as

biological weapons A biological agent (also called bio-agent, biological threat agent, biological warfare agent, biological weapon, or bioweapon) is a bacterium, virus, protozoan, parasite, fungus, or toxin that can be used purposefully as a weapon in bioterrorism ...

), or be any illness that came forth from the (ab)use of

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in medicine, science, ...

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In comics and literature

In film

In television

In video games

In role playing games

References

* '' Disease in Fiction. Its place in current literature'' Nestor Tirard, 1886. * ''Vital Signs Medical Realism in Nineteenth-Century Fiction'' Lawrence Rothfield, 1992. * ''Les malades imaginés: Diseases in fiction'' René Krémer. Journal: Acta Cardiologica, 2003. * ''No Cure for the Future: Disease and Medicine in Science Fiction and Fantasy'' Gary Westfahl & George Slusser, 2002. * ''Nineteenth-Century Narratives of Contagion'' Allan Conrad Christensen, 2005. * '' The Thackery T. Lambshead Pocket Guide to Eccentric & Discredited Diseases'' Jeff VanderMeer & Mark Roberts (ed). {{ISBN, 0-553-38339-6

List of fictional diseases Diseases, disorders, infections, and pathogens have appeared in fiction as part of a major plot or thematic importance. They may be fictional psychological disorders, magical, from mythological or fantasy settings, have evolved naturally, bee ...

Diseases A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that ar ...