Why Professional Pathology Services are Important

Patients do not usually get to meet or interact with the pathologists who handle the analysis of their laboratory results. This might lead some to undervalue the latter—which should never be the case. In fact, these doctors working in the background play a very important role in treating and caring for patients. Here are a few reasons why:

The Services of an Anatomic Pathology Laboratory

For any reputable medical facility, the assistance of an anatomic pathologist is an important component of making an accurate diagnosis. Anatomic pathologists excel at observing human tissue samples extracted by a patient's doctor and then taking note of any defects or diseases through a series of tests. Here are two of the most common diagnostic services that anatomic pathology laboratories offer to their clients:

The Importance of Pathology

Pathology is an incredibly important field in medicine, as it focuses on the causes and development of diseases, as well as how these affect health and the human body. Doctors would be practically crippled in doing their jobs if they did not have pathologists or pathology laboratory services backing them up. Here are a few reasons why pathology is so crucial:

Testing for HPV

If you receive an abnormal Pap smear result and your doctor tells you that it may be due to an infection with HPV (human papillomavirus), you may start to worry about what it means for your health. You may have heard that HPV increases a woman's risk of cervical cancer, but an abnormal test result doesn't mean that you have cervical cancer now. HPV is a common virus, and four out of five people will be diagnosed with the virus in their lives. Most women who have it do not necessarily develop cervical cancer.

Preventive Health Screenings are Important

The concept of managing health often involves practices such as regular exercise and eating right. However, regular visits to your doctor for preventive care are an integral part maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Regular check-ups are important—the earlier a doctor can detect and diagnose a condition, the easier it generally is to treat. Below are common health screenings recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF). Please talk to your physician for more information.

Three Common Types of Skin Biopsies

Cancer, inflammations, and abnormal growths on the skin are commonly diagnosed by a procedure called skin biopsy. This procedure involves the removal of a small skin tissue sample and its examination under microscope. Most skin biopsies involve minor surgery, and may require local anesthesia, although they usually don't require hospital stay.

There are several types of skin biopsies. A few examples are given below:

What is a Dermatopathologist?

A dermatopathologist is a medical doctor who specializes in diagnosing skin disorders under a microscope. His subspecialty is a combination of both dermatology, which is the diagnosis and treatment of skin, nail, and hair diseases, and pathology, which focuses on the identification of diseases. Dermatopathologists are like detectives, who need to make microscopic observations of skin cell and tissue samples, as well as evaluate the information given to them by the physician who performed the biopsy, to make a definitive diagnosis.

Correlation of Dermatology and Pathology

Dermatopathology is a combined specialty of dermatology and surgical pathology which focuses on skin diseases at a microscopic and cellular level. Most Dermatopathologists have been primarily trained in dermatology, and they usually work with dermatologists. The role of the dermatologist in this practice is to recognize skin diseases in relation to their appearances and associated symptoms. However, there are cases when the criteria provided is not enough to arrive at a conclusive diagnosis, so biopsies are taken so they can be examined microscopically by a trained Dermatopathologist in order to render an accurate diagnosis.

Basic Facts on Anatomic Pathology

Anatomic pathology is a branch of pathology that examines anatomical specimens to have more information about the process of diseases and cause of deaths. When it comes to cancer, anatomic pathologists examine biopsy samples that surgeons take from their patients in order to find out if the sample is cancerous or not.

There are different sub-specialties in anatomic pathology. The major ones are: dermpatopathology (examination and study of the skin), neuropathology (examination of brain tissue) and cytopathology (study of cells in samples). Others specialties are molecular pathology, osteopathology, and forensic pathology.

Pathologists: The Doctors of Doctors

Although oncologists are doctors whose expertise lies in diagnosing, understanding, and treating cancer, many of the principles that they use are linked to pathology. In fact, pathologists are sometimes called the “doctors' doctors” because their specialized knowledge in the diagnosis, cause, development, and characteristics of disease is applied in various branches of the medical field and is relied upon by treating physicians in order to determine treatment options for their patient.

Explaining the Role of the Dermatopathologist

When you have a skin condition or problem, your dermatologist mayhave to perform a series of tests to accurately determine what your condition actually is. Oftentimes, he will take a few samples of your affected skin or in other parts of your body like your nails or hair. He will then send these samples to a dermatopathologist who will mircoscopically analyze them to render a diagnosis.

The Role of Molecular Diagnostics in Medicine

Some diseases it seems, regardless of how many precautions you take, still strike sooner or later in life – especially if it is programmed into your DNA. For so many years, people who have hereditary conditions could do little but to brace for the possibility of developing the disease and hope that there would be a cure. This is where molecular diagnostics come in.

In this branch of science, professionals analyze the DNA patterns of individuals as well as their DNA's genetic content. Scientists here aim to identify a person's or family line's DNA sequence that has or may bring about genetic mutations that can lead to certain diseases. Moreover, molecular diagnostic studies are also beneficial in identifying specific strains of viruses or bacteria that cause infections.

About the Science of Gastrointestinal Pathology

The human digestive system can be one of the leading sources of diseases in humans, what with the large amount of foreign compounds that the system needs to process each day. Your gastrointestinal organs, for instance, can be especially sensitive. This is why the sub-specialization of Gastrointestinal Pathology came to be, with the goal of identifying the various reactions of the digestive organs to particular substances.

Understanding the Basics of Pathology

Pathology is the science of studying all aspects of human diseases. It studies illnesses that can be passed on genetically, including conditions that plague the blood, tissues, organs and body systems when attacked by microorganisms like viruses and bacteria. It is the study of the human body, but more than that, it documents where and how and why the body malfunctions, or sometimes, one of its systems goes against the whole.

Herpes Simplex Viruses 1 and 2

Herpes Simplex viruses or more commonly known as herpes have two types: herpes type 1 (HSV-1) and herpes type 2 (HSV-2). Herpes type 1 is the cause of sores around the mouth and the lips. A person with HSV-2, however, may have sores around the genitals and rectum. Although at times, it may occur in different locations, they are usually found in places below the waist.

Women's Pathology Services: Pap Test and HPV Test

In the United States, 13,000 women are diagnosed with cervical cancer every year. In some cases, with early detection, cervical cancer can be treated by containing the abnormal cell changes in the cervix before the cancerous cells developed. Cervical cancer is caused by the human papillomavirus or HPV.

The Pap test is the tool for early detection of cervical cancer. The test is done by taking cell samples from the cervix during a pelvic exam. The cell samples are sent to a laboratory for examination of abnormal cell changes and growth.

Uncovering the Secrets Inside Cells Through Biopsy

With the number of discovered diseases, it could be difficult to rule out which disease you have especially when some of these diseases have similar symptoms. One way of identifying which one you could be suffering from is by looking closely at your tissues or cells and observing how they behave. It's not a matter, however, of mere physical examination where a doctor would take a closer look at you.

You can't lie down on a bed and have a microscope zoom in on your finger or your back. For physicians to be able to analyze your body properly, they might have to take a piece of your flesh through a method called biopsy and then use a microscope to slowly comprehend the secrets your cells are hiding.

Listening Closely: The Story of the Stethoscope

Whether you're a real doctor or pretending to be one, a stethoscope is standard paraphernalia to the person of a doctor. Along with a white lab coat, a pin on its chest pocket, and perhaps a cup of hot coffee to keep his eyes wide open, if you're without one, you could be just the technician.

Stethoscopes have been very useful in identifying abnormal rhythms or pulses in the body in an instant. They are also very inexpensive. It enables doctors to find out what's going on inside without having to use X-rays, or other scanners.

Melanoma: A Medical Problem on the Rise

Cutaneous melanoma incidents are rising faster than any other major malignancy. Over the past several decades, the increase has been so dramatic in the US that it can now be aptly termed an 'epidemic'. Thankfully, detailed analysis of mortality rate reveals that the danger has not quite reached an alarming level.