A term applied to a disorder that produces no symptoms or signs because it is either mild or in the early stages of development.
This is our turf, the period of time when a potential disease is still potential, and a functional imbalance or tendency has not caused any organic disruption. Years of poor digestion, heartburn, and systematic suppression of upper GI function by adrenalin stress have not become overt gastritis, ulcers, or IBS. You have symptoms of distress (subclinical) but no real, ripened clinical disease. Some medical authorities (usually administrative docs from the “spokesman” and “quack-patrol” ranks of industry, academia or agency) actually insist that there is no such thing as a subclinical condition...you are either SICK or NOT SICK and presumably well. Sort of like the mechanic saying that the car works or doesn’t work...four quarts low on oil, but it WORKS. Only when it is five quarts low and has a siezed-up engine is there a need for a mechanic.
A description of a disease that is suspected but which has not developed su?ciently or is too mild in form to produce clear signs and symptoms in an individual. Even so, damage may be caused to tissues and organs.
adj. describing a disease that is suspected but is not sufficiently developed to produce definite signs and symptoms in the patient.
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