Manav Rachna International School

Sec-46, Gurugram

SUBJECT: BIOLOGY Name:________________

GRADE: IX HANDOUT- WHY DO WE FALL ILL? Date: _______________
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Health: State of being well enough to function physically, mentally and socially.
Factors on which health of a person depends:
a) Physical environment
b) Social environment
c) Mental state
d) Economic condition
e) Social equality and harmony
Disease
Disease literally means ‘dis-ease’ (uncomfortable). It can be defined as any physical or functional change from
normal state that causes discomfort or disability or impairs the health of living organisms.

Signs and symptoms of a disease:

Symptoms are abnormalities in structure, function or sensation that indicate a disease and can be
observed or experienced by the patient only. Symptoms include phenomena such as pain, nausea,
shortness of breath.
On the basis of symptoms, the physicians look for signs of a particular disease and will also get
laboratory tests done to confirm the presence of a particular disease.
Signs are abnormalities that indicate a disease and can be observed on examining the patient eg: skin
rashes, coughing, sore throat, vomiting, and diarrhea are signs of diseases.
Agents of Disease or Causes of Diseases: The disease agent is a factor which causes a disease due to its excess,
or deficiency or absence. These are of following types:
a. Biological agents: These include biological pathogens like virus, bacteria, fungi, protozoans or
worms.
b. Nutritional agents: These comprise food component that leads to poor health and under nourishment.
c. Mechanical agents: These comprise mechanical forces which results in injury, sprain, dislocation,
fracture.
d. Physical agents: These include heat, cold, humidity and environmental pollution (air, water etc.)
e. Gene mutations: These comprise of hereditary or genetic diseases.
f. Some diseases are also caused by genetic disorders and by malfunctioning of various chemical agents like
hormones, enzymes, urea etc.

Types of diseases on the basis of duration:

Acute Disease
They are short duration disease
They affect body suddenly and quickly.
Patient recovers completely after the
cure
There is no loss of weight or feeling of
tiredness afterward
There is short duration loss of work and There is a prolonged loss of work and
efficiency
Examples: Cold, cough, typhoid etc.
Chronic Disease
They are long lasting disease
They affect body slowly over a period of
time.
Patient does not recover completely
There is often loss of weight of feeling of
tiredness
efficiency
Examples: Diabetes, tuberculosis,
elephantiasis etc.