pathology

pathology study of the cause of disease and the modifications in cellular function and changes in cellular structure produced in any cell, organ, or part of the body by disease. The changes in tissue include degeneration, atrophy, hypertrophy, hyperplasia, and inflammation. The microscope is an important factor in detecting tissue changes, especially in the examination of small sections of tissue removed for diagnosis (biopsy); for this reason real progress in pathology was not made until the 19th cent. Other diagnostic techniques for testing body fluids and tissues for abnormal composition or metabolisms are electronmicroscopy, immunocytochemistry, and molecular pathologies.

Bibliography: See E. R. Long, A History of Pathology (1962, repr. 1965); W. A. Anderson and T. M. Scotti, Synopsis of Pathology (8th ed. 1972); L. V. Crowley, Introductory Concepts in Pathology (1972); L. Crowley, Introduction to Human Disease (1989).

pathology Study of diseases, their causes and the changes they produce in the cells, tissues, and organs of the body.

pathology The study of the changes in organs and tissues that are caused by or give rise to disease. This involves the examination of tissue samples, X-ray photographs, or other evidence taken from living patients or from cadavers. Clinical pathology applies these findings to clinical cases, particularly in the development of diagnostic tests and treatments. In experimental pathology, disease processes are studied using experimental animals, cell cultures, or other means.