epidemiology, field of medicine concerned with the study of
epidemics, outbreaks of disease that affect large numbers of people. Epidemiologists, using sophisticated statistical analyses, field investigations, and complex laboratory techniques, investigate the cause of a disease, its distribution (geographic, ecological, and ethnic), method of spread, and measures for control and prevention. Epidemiological investigations once concentrated on such communicable diseases as
tuberculosis,
influenza, and
cholera, but now also encompass
cancer,
heart disease, and other diseases affecting large numbers of people.
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