About NHS Histopathology
Join our mailing list
What is Histopathology?
Histopathology (which in some hospitals is also called cellular pathology) is an intellectually satisfying discipline. It deals with the tissue diagnosis of disease and is described in the Oxford English Dictionary as:
"the branch of medicine concerned with the changes in tissues caused by disease" - the microscopic anatomical changes in diseased tissue.
The major component of a histopathologists' work is dealing with biopsies, surgical resections and cytology samples. The final diagnosis in any patients is often made by the histopathologist and can have an important bearing on clinical management.
Pathology in Focus
A Professor of Surgery is reported to say to his patients:
"You won't meet the most important person involved in your treatment - that's the histopathologist!"
