A sequela (, ; usually used in the plural, sequelae) is a pathological condition resulting from a disease, injury, therapy, or other trauma. Typically, a sequela is, in medical language, a chronic condition that is a complication of an acute condition that begins during that acute condition. In ordinary language it may be described as a further condition that is different from, but a consequence of, the first condition. In timing a sequela contrasts with a late effect, where there is a period, sometimes as long as several decades, between the resolution of the initial condition and the appearance of the late effect.