For aspiring medical students, deciding whether they want to become a physician and attend medical school is just the first step of many as they plan their medical career path. The field of medicine has an abundance of specialties and subspecialties, which means there are plenty of exciting opportunities to choose from. However, this can also make it increasingly difficult to determine the type of doctor students want to become.
One of the most interesting specialties in medicine is pathology. Pathologists are often considered a “doctor’s doctor,” as they’re called upon for diagnostic support in a range of different scenarios. In recognition of World Pathology Day, St. George’s University, School of Medicine in Grenada, the Caribbean, shares more details about the field of pathology and its different types.
What is Pathology?
Simply put, pathology is the study of disease processes. This involves investigating the cause of illness, how it develops, and its long-term effects and/or outcomes. Pathologists examine specimens gathered from clinical lab tests or surgical procedures to uncover information that can aid in diagnosing, excluding, and monitoring of diseases.
For example, a pathologist may examine a biopsied tissue sample for viruses, bacteria, or other infectious agents. In other cases, the specialist may analyze fluid samples for irregularities related to blood disorders.
Depending on a pathologist’s area of focus, their day-to-day duties will vary. Generally speaking, these highly specialized physicians have very little interaction with patients but rather work behind the scenes as consultants for their primary providers.
Pathology is a vast sector of medicine that is made up of three main branches:
- Anatomic pathology – This type of pathology involves the examination of surgical specimens that have been removed from the body to investigate and diagnose disease. In practice, this calls upon physicians to examine tissues and cells under a microscope.
- Clinical pathology – Clinical pathologists approach the diagnosis of diseases through the laboratory analysis of body fluids and bodily tissue. Instead of examining surgically biopsied tissue, these physicians spend most of their time in labs testing blood and other fluids.
- Molecular pathology – While most pathology has an anatomic or clinical focus, there is a third sector of practice that includes aspects of both, namely molecular pathology. This branch focuses on disease at the submicroscopic, molecular level. These physicians utilize information and practices from both anatomic and clinical pathology while also incorporating aspects of genetics, molecular biology, and biochemistry. They are trained to identify viruses, bacteria, and fungi while also testing them for susceptibility to appropriate antimicrobial agents.
In conclusion, World Pathology Day invites us to appreciate the indispensable role of pathologists in medicine. Pathology, encompassing anatomic, clinical, and molecular branches, forms the foundation for disease diagnosis and understanding. Students who are naturally curious and motivated to find answers to complex questions may be the most interested in pursuing a pathology career. Most of the hands-on training students need to become pathologists will take place during medical residency, but they first need to obtain a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree. This underlines the vital link between the study of pathology and the broader landscape of medical education.
