PATHOLOGY

Introduction

 Pathology is a branch of medical

science primarily concerning the

cause ,origin and nature of disease

Definition
 The branch of medicine which treats of
the essential nature of disease
 The word pathology is derived from the
Greek words “pathos” meaning
“disease” and “logos” means the study
word disclosure
Types of pathology
 General pathology
 Anatomical pathology
 Clinical pathology
 Chemical pathology
General pathology
 It involves the study of the
mechanisms behind cell and tissue
injury as well as understanding how
body responds to and repairs injury
 Example –wound healing , necrosis
etc
Anatomical pathology
 This field is concerned with the
study and diagnosis of illness
through microscopic analysis of
samples from bodily fluids , tissues
,organs and sometimes the entire
body.
Anatomical pathology
 Histology (tissues and organs are
examined)
 Cytology (body fluids and tissues are
examined at cellular level)
 Forensic pathology (examination of
an autopsy in order to discover the
cause of death)
Clinical pathology
 It concerns the analysis of blood , urine
and tissue samples to examine and
diagnose disease.
Hematology
 It is concerned with the various disease
aspects which affect the blood
 Bleeding disorder ,clotting problem ,
anemia etc.
Immunology
 It involves the immune function test to
establish whether the patient is
suffering from an allergy or not
Microbiology
 It is concerned with the disease causing
pathogens Eg; bacteria , virus ,
parasites and fungi
Concept of pathology
 The pathology gives explanation of a
disease by studying
 Etiology
 Pathogenesis
 Morphologic changes
 Functional derangements and clinical
significance
Etiology
 It means the cause of the disease
 Primary etiology – if the cause of the
disease is known
 Idiopathic – if the cause of the disease
is unknown
Pathogenesis
 The mechanism through which the
cause operates to produce the
pathological and clinical manifestation
Morphologic changes
 The structural alterations in cell or
tissue that occurs following pathogenic
mechanism
Functional derangements and
clinical significance

 The Morphologic changes in the organ

influence the normal function of the
organ.
SPECIMEN COLLECTION
 Introduction
 Proper sample collection and handling
is an integral part of obtaining a valid
and timely laboratory test result
 The specimen must be obtained using
proper
Phlebotomy techniques
Collected in proper container
Correctly labeled &
Promptly transported
Specimen collection
 It is defined as the collection of a
required amount of tissue of fluid for
laboratory examination
Specimen
 The small quantity of a substance
which shows the kind and quality of the
whole
PURPOSE
 To make diagnosis
 To help in treatment
 To note progress or recess of a disease
 To observe the effect of the special
treatment and drugs
 To assess the general health of the
patient
 To investigate the nature of the disease
 To help the doctor in diagnosing and
treatment of a disease
PRINCIPLES
 Contaminated and improperly
collected specimens will produce false
results which will adversely affect the
diagnosis and treatment of the patient
 Specimens allowed to stand at room
temperature for a long time will give
false results due to decomposition of
specimen
 Blood chemistry is not uniform
throughout the day .it varies with the
food intake
 The accuracy and reliability of findings
depends on the
 Method of specimen collection
 Transportation
 Recording reports
 Inaccurate results may leads to wrong
diagnosis and treatment of patients
 Specimens serves as a media for
transmission of disease organisms to
the personnel who handle them
carelessly
General instructions
 Provide adequate explanation regarding
collection of specimens
 Equipment used for the specimen collection
should be clean and dry
 No antiseptic should be present in the
specimen bottle
 As far as possible morning specimens should
be collected
 Specimen should be always fresh for the
laboratory examination
 Specimen which are not tested
immediately should be kept in
refrigerator
 Instruct the patient and personnel to
wash hands after handling the specimen
 Specimen container should have a wide
mouth to prevent spilling of the
specimen on the outer side of the bottle
 Containers of the proper size are used
according to the nature of specimen
Sample collection requirement
 Patient preparation

 Some test requires that the patient be fasting

–blood glucose ,drug level and hormone test
 Patient identification
 Type of sample required
 Type of container
Sample labelling
 Name
 Age
 Ip number
 Sample
 Date and time
Special handling

 Immediate refrigeration

 Protection from light

 Prompt delivery to the laboratory