Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Systems pathology—or how to solve the complex problem of predictive pathology

  • Review and Perspective
  • Published:
Virchows Archiv Aims and scope Submit manuscript

An Erratum to this article was published on 23 December 2008

Abstract

To understand the extreme complexity of biological events requires a systemic approach. This holds particularly for the disordered biological interactions that are characteristic of disease, the subject of pathology. Which options are available to untie the Gordian knot? In this contribution, the potential role of systems biology and, as a further development, systems pathology will be discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Huxley TH (1860) The origin of species. Westminster Review 17:541–570

    Google Scholar 

  2. Schleiden M (1842) Grundzüge der wissenschaftlichen Botanik nebst einer methodologischen Einleitung als Anleitung zum Studium der Pflanze. Tle. Leipzig

  3. Schwann T (1839) Mikroskopische Untersuchungen über die Uebereinstimmung in der Struktur und dem Wachsthum der Thiere und Pflanzen, Frankfurt am Main, Berlin, Sander, [2006, Nachdr. der 1. Ausg.]

  4. Remak R (1838) Observationes anatomicae et microscopicae de systematis nervosi structura. Dissertation der Universität Berlin

  5. Virchow R, Cellularpathologie (1855) Arch path Anat und Physiol u. klin. Medizin 8:3–39

    Google Scholar 

  6. Berthold AA (1829) Lerhbuch der Physiologie der Menschen und Thiere. 2 Bde. Gött. 8

  7. Schiff M (1855) Untersuchungen zur Physiologie des Nervensystems mit Berücksichtigung der Pathologie. Literarische Anstalt, Frankfurt

    Google Scholar 

  8. Brown-Séquard C-E (1856) Recherches expérimentales sur la physiologie et la pathologie des capsules surrénales. Acad Sci 8:422–425

    Google Scholar 

  9. Virchow R (1863) Die krankhaften Geschwülste. August Hirschwald, Berlin

    Google Scholar 

  10. Pomerening JR (2008) Uncovering mechanisms of bistability in biological systems. Curr Opin Biotechnol (in press) Jul 14 [Epub ahead of print]

  11. Koshland DE Jr (1993) p53—molecule of the year. Science 262(5142):1953

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Kitano H (2002) Computational systems biology. Nature 421:573

    Google Scholar 

  13. Saidi O, Cordon-Cardoso C, Costa J (2007) Technology insight: will systems pathology replace the pathologist? Nat Clin Pract 4:39–45

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Greef vd J, McBurney RN (2000) Rescuing drug discovery: in vivo systems pathology and systems pharmacology. Nat Rev Drug Discov 4:961–967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Dietel M (2007) Predictive medicine: incipient reality or fata morgana. J Pathol 212:353–355

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  16. Zimmermann H (2001) Fuzzy set theory and its applications. Kluwer Academic, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  17. Hanabusa I (1652–1724) An Ukiyo-e print illustration taken from the US Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs Division under the digital ID cph.3g08725. No known restrictions on publication

  18. Oda K, Matsuoka Y, Funahashi A, Kitano H (2005) A comprehensive pathway map of epidermal growth factor receptor signaling. Mol Syst Biol 1:2005.0010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank C. Denkert, Christine Sers, and W. Weichert from the Department of Pathology, Charité Berlin, as well as Prof. Dr. Gunter Kloppel and Mrs. Kay Dege and Dagmar Schmöe from the Department of Pathology, Univ.-Klinikum UK-SH Campus Kiel, for their helpful advice and discussion of the manuscript. The paper was supported by the Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung in connection with the project MedSys-ColoNet, Charité and Humboldt-University, Berlin.

Conflict of interest statement

We declare that we have no conflict of interest.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Manfred Dietel.

Additional information

An erratum to this article can be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00428-008-0718-2

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Dietel, M., Schäfer, R. Systems pathology—or how to solve the complex problem of predictive pathology. Virchows Arch 453, 309–312 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-008-0656-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00428-008-0656-z

Keywords

Navigation