1. a biography or account that emphasizes the subject's diseases, psychological problems, or suffering
Usage: literary and biographical criticism; often used critically to describe biographies that focus excessively on pathology
2. a written description or study of disease or pathological conditions
Usage: medical and scientific contexts; less common than the biographical sense

Examples

• Critics argued that the new biography was more pathography than genuine historical analysis, dwelling on the subject's mental illness rather than his achievements.
• The author's pathography of the famous composer revealed details about his depression and addiction.
• Some scholars dismiss the work as pathography, claiming it reduces a complex figure to a case study of psychological dysfunction.
• The pathography provided medical insights into the historical figure's condition.
• Rather than write a balanced life story, the biographer produced a pathography focused entirely on the subject's suffering.