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| Pathology: A Career in Medicine |
| The Pathologist in Patient Care |
| Anatomic Pathology |
| A Case Study: Lung Cancer |
| Role of the Autopsy |
| Clinical Pathology |
| Molecular Pathology |
| The Pathologist as a Consultant |
| The Pathologist in Research |
| Case Study: Thyroid Cancer |
| Graduate Medical Education in Pathology |
| Career Options |
| The Pathologist as a Teacher |
| Undergraduate Study in Pathology |
| About ICPI |
| The Directory of Pathology Training Programs |
| The Road to Becoming a Biomedical Physician Scientist in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| Certification in the US and Canada |
| Pathology: A Career in Medicine Brochure - Ordering Information |
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| Anatomic Pathology | |
 After the pathologist fixes the patient’s tissue samples the specimens will be thinly sliced, mounted on slides, and examined under a microscope. |
Whenever tissue is removed from the body, it
must be examined to determine the precise cause of the illness that prompted
its removal. Microscopic analysis of tissue changes is the focus of anatomic
pathology. The pathologist plays a central role in the diagnosis of
surgically removed tissues, particularly when tumor is suspected, and works
closely with surgeons and other physicians in such cases. Often during surgery for suspected cancer, a pathologist is asked to prepare a frozen section. A piece of tissue is removed during the operation, frozen, thinly sliced, and prepared for rapid microscopic examination by the pathologist while the patient is still on the operating table. The preliminary diagnosis based on the frozen section guides the surgeon as to the next steps to take during surgery. |