Pathology - the Basis of Medicine

Pathology is the branch of medicine which is involved in understanding the cause and processes of disease. It does this by looking at changes in the tissues of the body and in blood and other body fluids. Some of these changes show the causes, while others reflect the severity of the disease and are used to follow the effects of treatment.

Pathologists are specialist medical practitioners working in the field of pathology. Their role is to carry out tests on various tissues including blood, body secretions and samples of tissue taken at surgery or as a part of a medical examination, in order to understand what is causing an illness.

Some pathologists see patients and may be involved directly in the delivery of care.

At the present time, pathology has seven different areas of activity. These relate either to the methods used or the types of disease which they investigate. These are:

· Anatomical Pathology
· Chemical Pathology
· Genetics
· Haematology
· Immunopathology
· Microbiology
· General Pathology

More information on each of these is available in "Pathology- Discipline by Discipline" and, if you are interested in becoming a pathologist, in "A Career in Pathology".

Related downloads

Manual of Use and Interpretation of Pathology Tests Order Form

> Top of Page