The suffix -pathy indicates which meaning?

• A. Growth
• B. Inflammation
• C. Fracture
• D. Disease

Answer: (D)

The ending -pathy denotes a disease or disorder affecting a body part. It comes from Greek pathos, meaning suffering, and is used in terms like neuropathy (nerve disease), myopathy (muscle disease), and cardiopathy (heart disease). This contrasts with other suffixes: growth is usually shown with -plasia or -trophy, inflammation with -itis, and fracture isn’t a suffix here (fracture refers to a break and is described with different terms). So the suffix -pathy clearly signals a disease.