Pathology Flashcards
Outline the importance of pathology clinically.
Allows greater understanding into the following:
- Aetiology of disease
- Pathogenesis - the mechanisms that cause symptoms
- Morphologic changes - alterations to body cells and organs caused by pathogens
Define pathology
The study of suffering/disease
What techniques are used within pathology?
- Microscopy
- Biopsies
- Cytology
- Cytometry
- Immunohistochemistry
What is the relation between doctors and pathologists?
- The research a pathologist provides on patient specimens can give an idea of what disease they have and how to treat it.
- “Without pathology, medicine is just a guess”
Before requesting histopathology, what should be done with the patient?
- History taking
- Clinical presentations
- If necessary, clinical examinations
- Obtaining consent when necessary
Define lesion
A pathological abnormality
Give some examples of histochemical stains.
- Ziehl- Neelsen - stains acid fast bacilli
- Gram stain - stains bacteria
- Trichrome - stains cells and connective tissue
Define immunohistochemistry
- Selective identification of antigens in a tissue
- Can rule out or confirm diagnoses e.g if a tumour is malignant or benign
What is molecular pathology?
Identification of molecular abnormalities in clinical samples
What are the four steps in molecular pathology?
- Understanding
- Diagnosis
- Prognosis
- Prediction
Give some examples of techniques in molecular pathology.
- Blotting
- PCR
- FISH
- Next-gen sequencing
What are the benefits of digital pathology with some examples?
- Reduced human error
- Reduced diagnostic time
- EXAMPLE - automated identification of tumours/ automated digitilisation of images for storage
What is targeted therapy and why is it favored in clinical environments?
- Providing treatment that targets specific genes/biomarkers/specific area that has been affected
- Reduced harm to healthy cells. Reduction in post-operative stay time in inpatient clinic.
