Types of Pathology Training Programs

The word "pathology" when roughly translated from its Greek origins means "the study of suffering." Pathology is the medical specialty concerned with diagnosis of disease. A pathologist will spend much of their time in the laboratory investigating or in some cases they may be called upon to teach. There are different types of pathology; the divisions in the field are based on what is being diagnosed.

Clinical pathology

A clinical pathologist focuses on using laboratory analysis in order to diagnose disease. They examine the body fluids and tissue samples from patients in order to draw conclusions on the cause of a patient's suffering. There are several subspecialties of clinical pathology, each with their own course of training. A hematopathologist studies conditions affecting the blood, bone marrow, lymph nodes and spleen. They are graduates from medical school who have completed a residency in general pathology and further training in hematology. Hematopathology is considered a subspecialty of clinical pathology.

Anatomic pathology

Anatomic pathology involves the examination of the whole body including microscopic analysis of the tissues and organs. An autopsy, for example, would be carried out by a type of anatomic pathologist known as a forensic pathologist. Anatomic pathology is considered to be the second major division in the pathology field, with the other being clinical pathology (see above). The combination of both specialties is termed "general pathology." A dermatopathologist is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology that focuses on diagnosing diseases of the skin. A graduate from medical school has two options when it comes to pursuing a certification in dermatopathology: become a general pathologist first or pursue a fellowship in dermatopathology after being certified as a dermatologist. A certification in dermatopathology takes one to two years to complete.