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8184410 
Journal Article 
Hallmarks of Health 
López-Otín, C; Kroemer, G; , 
2021 
Yes 
Cell
ISSN: 0092-8674
EISSN: 1097-4172 
184 
1 
33-63 
English 
Health is usually defined as the absence of pathology. Here, we endeavor to define health as a compendium of organizational and dynamic features that maintain physiology. The biological causes or hallmarks of health include features of spatial compartmentalization (integrity of barriers and containment of local perturbations), maintenance of homeostasis over time (recycling and turnover, integration of circuitries, and rhythmic oscillations), and an array of adequate responses to stress (homeostatic resilience, hormetic regulation, and repair and regeneration). Disruption of any of these interlocked features is broadly pathogenic, causing an acute or progressive derailment of the system coupled to the loss of numerous stigmata of health. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.; Rather than an absence of disease, health can be defined by its active features: spatial compartmentalization, maintenance of homeostasis, and appropriate responses to stress. © 2020 Elsevier Inc.