Chapter 1 : Introduction to Pathology
Topics covered in this snack-sized chapter:
Pathology is the study and diagnosis of disease through examination of organs, tissues, bodily fluids, and whole bodies.
Pathology addresses 4 components of disease:
- Mechanisms of development (pathogenesis).
- Structural alterations of cells (morphologic changes).
- The consequences of changes (clinical manifestations).
Pathology also encompasses the related scientific study of disease processes, called general pathology.
The term general pathology is also used to describe the practice of both anatomical and clinical pathology.
Rudolf Virchow known as the "father of pathology".
Rudolf Virchow gave the biggest contribution to the field by introducing the procedure of analyzing tissue and cells through a microscope to the pathologists.
Histopathology:
- The microscopic examination of tissue in order to study the manifestations of the disease.
- In clinical medicine, histopathology refers to the examination of a biopsy or surgical specimen by a pathologist, after the specimen has been processed and histological sections have been placed onto glass slides.
Anatomical pathology:
- Anatomical pathology is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the gross, microscopic, chemical, immunologic and molecular examination of organs, tissues, and whole bodies (autopsy).
- Father of Anatomical pathology: Giovanni Battista Morgagni.
Clinical pathology:
- Clinical pathology is a collection of all the analytical work performed in a clinical laboratory through specific pathology fields, like clinical chemistry, dermatopathology, blood banking, hematopathology, neuropathology, cytopathology, forensic pathology, immunopathology, and pediatric pathology.
- Clinical pathology consists of a wide range of tests ranging from simple blood and urine tests to bone-marrow biopsies.
- Father of Clinical Pathology: Paul Ehrlich
Dermatopathology:
- Dermatopathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology that focuses on the skin as an organ.
- Father of Dermatology: Ferdinand-Jean Darier.
Hematopathology:
- Hematopathology is the study of diseases of blood cells (White blood cells, red blood cells, platelets) and cells/tissues/organs comprising the hematopoietic system.
- Father of Hematopathology: Philip Syng Physick.
Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology:
- The diagnosis, clinical management and investigation of diseases that affect the oral cavity and surrounding maxillofacial structures including but not limited to odontogenic, infectious, epithelial, salivary gland, bone and soft tissue pathologies.
- Father of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology: Thomas Emerson Bond.
Forensic pathology:
- Forensic pathology is a branch of pathology concerned with determining the cause of death by examination of a cadaver.
- Father of Forensic Pathology: Bernard Spilsbury.
Veterinary pathology:
- Veterinary pathologists are doctors of veterinary medicine who specialize in the diagnosis of diseases through the examination of animal tissue and body fluids.
- Father of Veterinary pathology: Rudolf Virchow.
Molecular pathology:
- Molecular pathology focuses in the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of molecules within organs, tissues or bodily fluids.
- Father of Molecular pathology: Rudolf Virchow.