evidence: Because the agent-host-environment model did not work well for many non-infectious diseases, several other models that attempt to account for the multifactorial nature of causation have been proposed. One such model was proposed by Rothman in 1976, and has come to be known as the Causal Pies.(42) This model is illustrated in Figure 1.17. An individual factor that contributes to cause disease is shown as a piece of a pie. After all the pieces of a pie fall into place, the pie is complete — and disease occurs. The individual factors are called component causes. The complete pie, which might be considered a causal pathway, is called a sufficient cause. A disease may have more than one sufficient cause, with each sufficient cause being composed of several component causes that may or may not overlap. A component that appears in every pie or pathway is called a necessary cause, because without it, disease does not occur. Note in Figure 1.17 that component cause A is a necessary cause because it appears in every pie. [...] At the other extreme, an agent that is usually harmless in healthy persons may cause devastating disease under different conditions. Pneumocystis carinii is an organism that harmlessly colonizes the respiratory tract of some healthy persons, but can cause potentially lethal pneumonia in persons whose immune systems have been weakened by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Presence of Pneumocystis carinii organisms is therefore a necessary but not sufficient cause of pneumocystis pneumonia. In Figure 1.17, it would be represented by component cause A.