What is a pathologist, and how is a pathologist involved in my care?

A pathologist is a physician who has received several years of training beyond medical school in a pathology residency program in the study of human pathology, and who has demonstrated his/her diagnostic skills by passing rigorous examinations. A pathologist may practice one or more specialties and subspecialties, including surgical pathology, cytopatholgy, and clinical pathology (see below). The pathologist usually communicates directly with your doctor, and not usually with you, the patient. In some ways, the pathologist is the "doctor's doctor". Pathology is the study of the structural and functional causes of human disease. Pathologists use a variety of methods and their knowledge about human disease in order to provide a diagnosis (that is, to name the disease process and to provide information about the cause of the disease). A surgical pathologist provides a diagnosis on samples of tissue obtained during surgery or from a biopsy obtained by a surgeon or other clinician. In ...  more