Pathology is the study of the causes and development of disease based on research into the formal and functional changes in the body. What does the pathology department do?

1. Fine diagnosis determines whether or not lesions are cancerous, benign tumors or inflammations by observing under a microscope the fine structure of tissues or cells sampled from patients.
2. Prognosis and treatment method determination implementing a range of pathologic inspections of tissue excised in surgery and estimates the malignancy of the tumor and which treatment it will effectively respond to. Based on its results, other departments determine the prognosis and treatment which best suit their patient.

Pathology Department Tasks

1. Surgical Pathology: make accurate diagnosis of lesions by producing glass slides of patient tissues sampled at surgery or biopsy and observing the fine structure of the tissue under a microscope.

2. Cell Pathology: collect cells naturally discarded by patients or collect cells with a fine needle for observation under a microscope to determine the existence of cancer cells.

3. Immune Pathology: When accurate diagnosis is difficult from observation alone, protein expression is analyzed through immune pathology examination for more specific and accurate tumor diagnosis.

4. Molecular Pathology: extracts nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA from tissue and cell samples and analyzes changes in the genes.

5. Electron Microscopy: When optical observation of fine structures is inadequate, hyperfine structures are observed via electron microscope for correct diagnosis.

6. Clinical Advice: Pathologists provide pathologic advice concerning a diagnosis at the request of clinical doctors, participate in discussions about patient cases and actively cooperate with doctors for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

7. Research Advice: pathology department samples and tissue bank stores are valuable resources for research. This provides other basic medicine and clinical medicine personnel with tissue samples without identifiable patient information, eliminating bias and improving privacy.

8. Autopsy: The pathology department performs autopsies of human remains and visual or other inspections to determine cause of death.