Definition of Prognosis

Prognosis: 1. The expected course of a disease.
2. The patient's chance of recovery.
The prognosis predicts the outcome of a disease and therefore the future for the patient. His prognosis is grim, for example, while hers is good.

The word prognosis comes from the Greek prognostikos (of knowledge beforehand). It combines pro (before) and gnosis (a knowing). Hippocrates used the word prognosis, much as we do today, to mean a foretelling of the course of a disease.

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