Medical School
Herston Road, Herston
Australia, 4006
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The word pathology means knowledge of suffering, specifically the suffering
caused by disease. The study of pathology can be divided into general
pathology that focuses on the causes and mechanisms of disease and
systematic pathology which considers the spectrum of disease process within
each major system of the body. It is traditional to study general
pathology first as this provides the science and terminology underlying the
major categories of disease: inflammatory, neoplastic, cardiovascular,
metabolic, genetic, degenerative, nutritional, autoimmune, trauamtic,
congenital, iatrogenic and idiopathic. This classification is not perfect
as some diseases fit under more than one category. However, it serves as
the paradigm of diagnosis which is the first step in correct patient
management.
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Diagnostic pathology can be equated with laboratory medicine, a branch of
medicine that utilises laboratory technology for the benefit of the
patient. Specifically, laboratory procedures are used to assist with
diagnosis, determining prognosis and monitoring response to treatment.
Laboratory medicine is important also in achieving quality through the
audit of clinical practice. This is because the discipline has a rigorous
scientific base that is applied in an independent and unbiased way to the
monitoring of clinical diagnosis and treatment. The aim of pathology is to
align both biomedical and clinical science to the individual needs of the
patient and also to the community.
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Pathology began as an offshoot of anatomical dissection when it was
appreciated that the altered structure of internal organs was an important
reflection of the underlying disease process. Modern medicine began
through the process of correlating autopsy findings with clinical history.
The first step was to see the abnormalites and understand how they differed
from the normal. The second was to develop and test hypotheses to explain
the observations. The process of clinicopathological correlation gathered
pace through the application of microscopic study and the understanding
that the human body was composed of cells organised into tissues. The
German pathologist Virchow was the first to appreciate that cancer was a
disease of cells and that each cancer cell was derived from a precursor
cell. This breakthrough led to the establishment of surgical pathology or
the examination of tissues from living patients whether these were taken
before, during or after surgery. Nowadays it is possible to obtain
biopsies from almost any internal organ in order to achieve a tissue
diagnosis. This has been helped by the development of new imaging
modalities and improved methods of tissue sampling. Whilst the
demonstration of disordered structure has been regarded as the gold
standard for the diagnosis of disease, it is incomplete in this day and
age. Additional laboratory techniques have been added from the disciplines
of biochemistry, molecular genetics and microbiology to complete the
picture that began with autopsy.
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Pathology is taught in order to impart a thorough understanding of the
classification of disease, the causes and mechanisms underlying disease
processes, the pathological correlates of clinical signs and symptoms and
the basis for selecting and interepreting laboratory tests. Without this
understanding a doctor will lack both confidence and competence when
attempting to manage a patient.
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Email: Secretary |
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