virology

Word family

• virologist
  nounC1
• virological
  adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Virology is a subfield of microbiology, which studies all microorganisms — bacteria, fungi, and parasites as well as viruses. While a virologist examines the virus itself (its genes, protein coat, replication cycle), an epidemiologist tracks how viral diseases move through communities, asking where an outbreak started and who is at risk. Immunology overlaps with virology when it comes to vaccines and antiviral defences, but immunologists study the immune system as a whole, not viruses specifically. Pathology, meanwhile, looks at the tissue damage and symptoms diseases produce — a pathologist identifies what a virus does to the body rather than studying the virus particle. For example, a virologist might sequence a new flu strain's genome; an epidemiologist would map which cities it has reached; an immunologist would work on a vaccine; and a pathologist would examine lung tissue from a patient who died from it.

Common collocations

Etymology

The word virology was formed in the early twentieth century as scientists first identified viruses as infectious agents distinct from bacteria. It combines the Latin word virus (meaning 'poison' or 'slimy liquid') with the Greek suffix -logia ('the study of'). The term became established in English in the 1930s as virology emerged as a recognised scientific discipline.