Roles and Responsibilities of a Pathologist

Who Is a Pathologist?

Pathologists are physicians who specialize in examining bodies and body tissues and providing diagnoses. The pathologist may examine a tissue sample with the help of laboratory tests. The majority of cancer diagnoses are made by or with the help of a pathologist. So they play a key role in the treatment team, as they provide accurate information about the patients by testing their samples. However, patients will never be able to interact with clinical pathologists during the treatment period.

In modern pathology, a pathologist has more than microscopes to work with, like genetic studies and gene markers to diagnose a genetic condition.

What Are the Responsibilities of a Pathologist?

The primary duties of a pathologist include the following:

• Supervising the management of the clinical laboratory and hospital.

• Examining and analyzing laboratory tests.

• Sending collected details to ordering physicians to guide required treatment and patient care.

• Histologically interpreting tissue samples collected from the patient and determining if it is cancerous or not.

• Performing autopsies to identify the disease and determine the cause and mechanism of death.

What Are the Subspecialties in Pathology?

There are two primary types of pathologists:

Anatomic Pathology: Anatomic pathology mainly involves diagnosing medical conditions and cancers by analyzing the specimens collected during surgery or biopsy. The pathologist processes the collected samples into a histologic microscope slide using special stains called eosin, hematoxylin, and molecular markers. An anatomical pathologist also has a role in autopsies, evaluating diseases or disorders present during the patient's death.

Clinical Pathology: Clinical pathology involves the clinical laboratory analysis and medical analysis of body fluids and other specimens collected from patients. This department includes different types of tests such as complete blood counts, protein analysis, plasma studies, gene expression in certain cancers, etc. Chemistry, microbiology, genetics, and molecular studies are clinical pathology subtypes.

There are numerous subspecialties a pathologist can study through fellowship training. These include:

• Blood Banking or Transfusion Medicine - A pathologist specializing in blood banking is in charge of monitoring, checking compatibility, and processing blood samples, which involves monitoring processes like adequate blood supply, blood utilization, the safety of the donor and patient, and preparations for blood and blood components, including plasma, white blood cells, red blood cells, platelets, and marrow or stem cells for transplantation. The pre-transfusion compatibility test and antibody test make blood transfusions as safe as possible.

• Cytopathology - A cytopathologist comes under an anatomic pathologist trained to diagnose disease by studying samples taken from body secretions and fluids. The samples are collected by different methods like washing, sponging, or scraping the surface of a lesion or by aspiration in the case of a body organ or tumor mass with a fine needle aspiration technique. An expert cytopathologist can help diagnose samples collected from any body parts and consult with all medical specialists.

• Forensic Pathologist - A forensic pathologist will help in investigating and evaluating cases of sudden, suspicious, unexpected, and violent death. They mostly work as coroners or medical examiners while performing autopsies for law enforcement. It is their duty to help identify the manner, cause, and mechanism of death.

• Clinical Informatics - A physician practicing clinical informatics aims to improve patient care, patient and society health outcomes, and doctor-patient relationships by collaborating with other health care and information technology professionals. The information collected will be utilized to improve and polish medical processes that will improve patient outcomes.

• Dermatopathology - A dermatopathologist specializes in diagnosing and monitoring skin diseases, like immunologic, degenerative, infectious, and neoplastic diseases, by examining samples collected from skin biopsies. This process involves multiple steps like preparing tissue sections, cellular scrapings, processing smears, and evaluating with equipment like light, fluorescence, and electron microscopy to examine and interpret the disease condition.

• Hematopathology - Hematopathologists are specialized in analyzing diseases that affect blood cells, bone marrow, blood clotting mechanisms, and lymph nodes. Hematologists use their knowledge and technical skills to diagnose conditions like anemias, lymphomas, leukemias, bleeding, and blood clotting disorders.

• Neuropathology - Neuropathologists are specialists in diagnosing diseases and conditions that affect the nervous system and skeletal muscles. They primarily work as a consultant to neurosurgeons and neurologists. They will also analyze postmortem to evaluate genetic conditions, assess trauma, and study dementia.

• Chemical Pathologist - A chemical pathologist specializes in the biochemistry of the human body, which can be applied to understand the cause and progression of the disease. This is done by applying biochemical data to detect, monitor, or confirm the disease. They work as a clinical consultant in diagnosing and treating human diseases.

• Pediatric Pathology - A pediatric pathologist specializes in the laboratory diagnosis of diseases occurring during fetal growth and childhood up to 18 years of age. The physician requires a good knowledge of general pathology as well as an understanding of the normal growth and development of pediatric patients.

• Molecular Genetic Pathology - A molecular genetic pathologist masters the principles, theory, and technologies of molecular genetics and microbiology. These individuals assist with the observation, diagnosis, and prognosis of diseases relating to genetic disorders, human development, malignancies, and infectious diseases. They provide information about gene structure, function, and mutation and apply laboratory techniques for diagnosing and managing related disorders.

• Medical Microbiology - A medical microbiologist is an expert in studying infectious organisms and antibiotic susceptibilities. Viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites are identified and tested for susceptibility-appropriate antimicrobial agents. They help prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases that occur from microorganisms.

Conclusion

Pathologists are physicians involved in working in laboratories where they manage different work to help in diagnosis and treatment plans for many disease conditions, especially for cancer. Becoming a pathology specialist involves many years of education and training; they receive training in all the latest tools and different equipment that help diagnose a disease or condition.