Patient Care
Pathologists play an extremely important role in the treatment of patients. Pathologists are licensed and board-certified medical doctors (physicians) who first had to graduate from medical school, qualifying to be general practitioners, and then go through a residency training program in pathology. Pathologists make diagnoses based on the examination of tissues and cells removed from the patients, using tools that include microscopes and other special techniques. This is pathology diagnosis essential for proper treatment and management of most diseases.
When a patient goes to medical doctor or surgeon with a specific complaint, the patient gets examined and asked few questions. The doctor or surgeon then come up with a list of diseases any of which can cause similar problem to the patient, but may have different treatments. To narrow the list down, the doctor may obtain additional tests that may include a blood test, an X-ray, or a biopsy. A biopsy is a small piece of tissue removed from a body part that is related to the chief complaint like skin, mouth, stomach, ..etc. The biopsy is then sent to the laboratory to be examined by a pathologist. The pathologist looks under the microscope at a very thin slice of the tissue pieces in search for microscopic features that can be seen in some diseases and not in others. If needed, the pathologist may use additional techniques that can identify, for example, germs and viruses or specific proteins to help with his or her diagnosis. The pathologist can also determine whether cells in the patient tissue are cancerous, early cancer, or normal. At the end of the tissue examination, the pathologist issues a consultation report with his/her findings, rendering a professional opinion to what the disease is. The pathologist's consultation report goes back directly to the medical doctor or surgeon who obtained the biopsy from the patient, and most patients do not see these reports. Based on the pathologist's opinion, the treating doctor chooses the best treatment for the disease. Choosing a known and competent pathologist or pathology group to handle your pathology diagnosis, needless to say, is at least as important as choosing your dermatologist, gastroenterologist, or surgeon.
Click here for more information on what pathologists do.
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