病源 (bìngyuán): cause of disease

Meanings

1 cause of disease
2 source of illness
3 pathogen / etiology

Characters

病

Examples

医生需要找出病源才能对症下药。

Yīshēng xūyào zhǎo chū bìngyuán cái néng duì zhèng xià yào.

The doctor needs to identify the source of the illness before prescribing the right treatment.

饮用水污染是这次流行病的病源。

Yǐnyòngshuǐ wūrǎn shì zhè cì liúxíngbìng de bìngyuán.

Contaminated drinking water was the source of this epidemic.

Tips

usage

病 (illness) + 源 (source). Distinct from 病因 (bìngyīn, 'cause of illness' in a broader sense including risk factors) and 病原体 (bìngyuántǐ, 'pathogen' — the actual microorganism). 病源 sits between the two: the upstream source from which the disease arises.