The below diagram is from University of Ottawa, "Society, the Individual, and Medicine (SIM) curriculum" notes. The diagram illustrates the difference between illness, disease and sickness and includes brief descriptions.

• Disease refers to the medical establishment's perspective;
• sickness refers to society's perspective,
• and illness is the way the patient perceives their condition.

The following diagram is from the University of Ottawa, "Society, the Individual, and Medicine (SIM) curriculum" notes. The diagram illustrates the difference between illness, disease, and sickness, and it includes brief descriptions.

• Disease refers to the medical establishment's perspective;
• sickness refers to society's perspective,
• and illness is the way the patient perceives their condition.