Idiopathic?

(relating to or denoting any disease or condition which arises spontaneously or for which the cause is unknown- from Oxford Dictionary)

The term that as a physician most disconcerting I find

Is “idiopathic”- to confess that something is unexplained, in my mind

Seems like a poor excuse, science has advanced a lot

In understanding mechanisms behind diseases, it does not

Feel appropriate to give a pseudoscientific euphemism to me

To something that is understood incompletely

*

I am heartened to state that in my field of specialization

We now have actual diagnoses for several “idiopathic” conditions

There is nothing that I love more than replacing the term

With a more accurate description, it does affirm

My faith in the spirit of scientific inquiry that does not take

Unknown for an explanation, that is a philosophy archaic

I drop the word “idiopathic” where the mechanism is truly unclear

With plans to add the right term as an explanation appears

*

The word idiopathic was probably coined to appeal

To the egos of scientists and physicians who were reluctant to reveal

Their ignorance- to phrase it in a scientific sounding way

Was the best they could probably come up with, back in the day

But the true spirit of science lies in being able to acknowledge

The extent and limitations of current knowledge

While striving to find answers to the human body’s mysteries

In that spirit, the term idiopathic from my medical vocabulary I release