What is Pathology? ‘Medicine is Pathology’
Pathology is the branch of medicine that is involved in understanding the causes and processes of disease. It does this by looking at changes in the tissues of the body or in blood and other body fluids. Some of these changes show the causes of the disease, while others provide critical information for the doctor in the diagnosis and treatment of illness. These changes can often be used to reflect the severity of the disease, and are used to follow the effects of treatment. More »
The Disciplines of Pathology
At the present time, pathology has nine major areas of activity. These relate either to the methods used or the types of disease which they investigate. The disciplines are:
Medical & Scientific Organisations Involved in Pathology
- Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists - AACB
- Australian Association of Pathology Practices - AAPP
- Australian Institute of Medical Scientists - AIMS
- Australian & New Zealand Society of Blood Transfusion - ANZSBT
- Australian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy - ASCIA
- Australian Society of Cytology - ASC
- Australian Society for Microbiology - ASM
- Endocrine Society of Australia - ESA
- Haematology Society of Australia and New Zealand - HSANZ
- Health Informatics Society of Australia Ltd - HISA
- Human Genetics Society of Australasia - HGSA
- International Academy of Pathology - IAP
- National Coalition of Public Pathology - NCOPP
- Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia - RCPA
New service demystifies medical tests for patients
Next time your doctor gives you a form requesting a blood test, takes a biopsy or orders any one of the hundreds of lab tests used to diagnose an illness, you’ll be able to find out more about it thanks to a new free on-line information service.
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Case studies - The Role of Pathology in Our Lives
Case Study 1 - An example of prenatal and postnatal testing
Sarah and Steven are the proud parents of two week old Benjamin. This is their first child. Sarah’s pregnancy was relatively easy, but her gynaecologist requested a number of routine tests to be performed to ensure the health and well being of Sarah and her unborn baby. These tests were all performed by the pathology laboratory. More »