Skip to content
- Etiology: cause of a disease.
- Eg: In a common cold caused by a virus, “the virus” is the etiology of common cold.
- Pathogenesis: how a disease develops, progresses, and persists or resolves.
- Eg: In Lung cancer, the harmful agents in tobacco smoke irritate the cells, then various mutations occur in the cells because of which cancer cells are formed, then the cancer cells multiply and invade the surrounding lung and may travel to other areas of the body through blood, lymph etc. This entire process can be put under pathogenesis of lung cancer.
- Morphology: Size and shape of an organ (even tissue or a cell) after a disease.
- Gross: Change in structure at a macroscopic level.
- Eg: In Goitre, the Thyroid gland becomes enlarged and turns into a shape with multiple projections.
- Microscopy: Change in structure of a cell or tissue at a microscopic level.
- Eg: In Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma, the nuclei of cells become clear and overlap with adjacent nuclei molding its shape in the process.
- Clinical Features: Problems related to the disease which are pointed out by the patient and the issues which are picked up by the doctor by examining the patient.
- Symptoms: Symptoms are feelings or sensations or problems that a person experiences due to a disease. It can be subjective.
- Signs: Signs are “observed” by the doctor. Signs are usually objective and measurable.
- Eg: Blood pressure, Lymph node enlargement.
- Note: Some features can be part of both symptoms and signs. Eg: Fever, Weight loss
- Prognosis: refers to the outcome of a disease, like the chance of recovey or recurrence.
- Eg: Prognosis of High grade Sarcoma is poor, but that of a benign stromal tumor is good.
- Main subspecialties in Pathology
- These are the most common labs which function under a Pathologist.
- Hematopathology
- Deals with study of cells in blood
- Eg: peripheral blood examination, bone marrow studies etc
- Cytopathology
- Deals with study of single cells which are found in body fluids or which are scraped or aspirated from areas of the body with suspected disease
- Eg: FNAC (Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology), Body fluid cytology
- Histopathology
- Deals with study of Tissue
- Eg: Biopsy
- Clinical Pathology
- Mainly deals with Body fluid cell count, differential count, Urine examination, Stool examination etc.
