autopathy

Noun

autopathy (uncountable)

1. The philosophy that the cause of sickness in one individual is the same as the cause in another person.
   • I cannot too strongly impress upon your mind this one foundation-principle of Autology and Autopathy- namely, that the essential cause or blood and flesh condition which sickens one organ or tissue, in one person, is exactly the same which sickens another organ or tissue in another person.1918, Edmond Raymond Moras, The practice of autopathy: the law of health and disease
2. An interaction where a species affects its own subsequent growth, especially negatively.
   • The reduction in soil water status and the cessation of sand movement are considered to be important factors in the decline of the A. ordosica community. The importance of allelopathy, and in particular autopathy, in preventing seedling growth of A. ordosica is also discussed.1996, Commonwealth Bureau of Soil Science, Soils and fertilizers, volume 59, page 554