Azzone, Giovanni F. “Disease as Instability, Error and Entropy.” Modern Trends in Biothermokinetics, E. Gnaiger, FN Gellerich and M. Wyss eds., Innsbruck University Press, pag (1994): 81-85.
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In scientific medicine causes (etiology) and mechanisms (pathogenesis) of diseases are identified on the basis of biochemical and physiological changes (the physiopathological approach). Etiopathogenetic studies, however, provide information only on the mechanisms of the diseases. The problem arises as to whether thermodynamics may help to identify more general and common features of the biochemical and physiological alterations in diseases. Living organisms are irreversible thermodynamic systems which build up and maintain their genome-codified, evolution-selected, structures by extracting energy and matter from the environment. Associated with auto-duplication and transmission of information by the genetic code, the variation-selection process leads to evolution towards increased complexity and hierarchical organization.