Misplaced Pages

#185814

114-423: The male cadaver was encased and frozen in a gelatin and water mixture in order to stabilize the specimen for cutting. The specimen was then "cut" in the axial plane at 1-millimeter intervals. Each of the resulting 1,871 "slices" was photographed in both analog and digital, yielding 15 gigabytes of data. In 2000, the photos were rescanned at a higher resolution, yielding more than 65 gigabytes. The female cadaver

228-421: A C shape (see image). The location of anatomical structures can also be described in relation to different anatomical landmarks . They are used in anatomy, surface anatomy, surgery, and radiology. Structures may be described as being at the level of a specific spinal vertebra , depending on the section of the vertebral column the structure is at. The position is often abbreviated. For example, structures at

342-408: A biopsy of nervous tissue is taken from the brain or spinal cord to aid in diagnosis. Biopsy is usually requested after a mass is detected by medical imaging . With autopsies, the principal work of the neuropathologist is to help in the post-mortem diagnosis of various conditions that affect the central nervous system. Biopsies can also consist of the skin. Epidermal nerve fiber density testing (ENFD)

456-446: A combination known as general pathology. Cytopathology (sometimes referred to as "cytology") is a branch of pathology that studies and diagnoses diseases on the cellular level. It is usually used to aid in the diagnosis of cancer, but also helps in the diagnosis of certain infectious diseases and other inflammatory conditions as well as thyroid lesions, diseases involving sterile body cavities (peritoneal, pleural, and cerebrospinal), and

570-438: A conclusive diagnosis, and a skin biopsy is taken to be examined under the microscope using usual histological tests. In some cases, additional specialized testing needs to be performed on biopsies, including immunofluorescence , immunohistochemistry , electron microscopy , flow cytometry , and molecular-pathologic analysis. One of the greatest challenges of dermatopathology is its scope. More than 1500 different disorders of

684-527: A disability rights activist—became the third body donor to the project, spending the 15 following years until her death by pneumonia in 2015 as an outspoken advocate for medical education and a mentor of medical students at the University of Colorado. For nearly two decades, National Geographic documented the story of Susan Potter and Dr. Victor M. Spitzer, the director of the Center for Human Simulation at

798-525: A fixative that stabilizes the tissues to prevent decay. The most common fixative is formalin , although frozen section fixing is also common. To see the tissue under a microscope, the sections are stained with one or more pigments. The aim of staining is to reveal cellular components; counterstains are used to provide contrast. Histochemistry refers to the science of using chemical reactions between laboratory chemicals and components within tissue. The histological slides are then interpreted diagnostically and

912-549: A formal area of specialty was not fully developed until the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with the advent of detailed study of microbiology . In the 19th century, physicians had begun to understand that disease-causing pathogens, or "germs" (a catch-all for disease-causing, or pathogenic, microbes, such as bacteria , viruses , fungi , amoebae , molds , protists , and prions ) existed and were capable of reproduction and multiplication, replacing earlier beliefs in humors or even spiritual agents, that had dominated for much of

1026-471: A general examination or an autopsy ). Anatomical pathology is itself divided into subfields, the main divisions being surgical pathology , cytopathology , and forensic pathology . Anatomical pathology is one of two main divisions of the medical practice of pathology, the other being clinical pathology, the diagnosis of disease through the laboratory analysis of bodily fluids and tissues. Sometimes, pathologists practice both anatomical and clinical pathology,

1140-433: A number of distinct but inter-related medical specialties that diagnose disease, mostly through analysis of tissue and human cell samples. Idiomatically, "a pathology" may also refer to the predicted or actual progression of particular diseases (as in the statement "the many different forms of cancer have diverse pathologies", in which case a more proper choice of word would be " pathophysiologies "). The suffix pathy

1254-437: A number of visual and microscopic tests and an especially large variety of tests of the biophysical properties of tissue samples involving automated analysers and cultures . Sometimes the general term "laboratory medicine specialist" is used to refer to those working in clinical pathology, including medical doctors, Ph.D.s and doctors of pharmacology. Immunopathology , the study of an organism's immune response to infection,

SECTION 10

#1732776580186

1368-543: A pathologist generally requires specialty -training after medical school , but individual nations vary some in the medical licensing required of pathologists. In the United States, pathologists are physicians ( D.O. or M.D. ) who have completed a four-year undergraduate program, four years of medical school training, and three to four years of postgraduate training in the form of a pathology residency . Training may be within two primary specialties, as recognized by

1482-416: A significant portion of all general pathology practice is concerned with cancer , the practice of oncology makes extensive use of both anatomical and clinical pathology in diagnosis and treatment. In particular, biopsy, resection , and blood tests are all examples of pathology work that is essential for the diagnoses of many kinds of cancer and for the staging of cancerous masses . In a similar fashion,

1596-414: A standard set of terms to communicate clearly the position of a structure. Standard anatomical and zoological terms of location have been developed, usually based on Latin and Greek words, to enable all biological and medical scientists, veterinarians , doctors and anatomists to precisely delineate and communicate information about animal bodies and their organs, even though the meaning of some of

1710-403: A state in which a part further away is abnormally placed towards (varus) or away from (valgus) the midline. The terms proximal (from Latin proximus  'nearest') and distal (from Latin distare  'to stand away from') are used to describe parts of a feature that are close to or distant from the main mass of the body, respectively. Thus the upper arm in humans

1824-425: A suspicious lesion , whereas excisional biopsies remove the entire lesion, and are similar to therapeutic surgical resections. Excisional biopsies of skin lesions and gastrointestinal polyps are very common. The pathologist's interpretation of a biopsy is critical to establishing the diagnosis of a benign or malignant tumor, and can differentiate between different types and grades of cancer, as well as determining

1938-455: A three-dimensional tour through the body. A "Virtual Radiography" application creates Digitally Reconstructed Radiographs and "virtual surgery", where endoscopic procedures or balloon angioplasty are simulated: the surgeon can view the progress of the instrument on a screen and receives realistic tactile feedback according to what kind of tissue the instrument would currently be touching. Several other educational applications utilized form

2052-459: A vast array of species, but with a significantly smaller number of practitioners, so understanding of disease in non-human animals, especially as regards veterinary practice , varies considerably by species. Nevertheless, significant amounts of pathology research are conducted on animals, for two primary reasons: 1) The origins of diseases are typically zoonotic in nature, and many infectious pathogens have animal vectors and, as such, understanding

2166-459: A wide range of other body sites. Cytopathology is generally used on samples of free cells or tissue fragments (in contrast to histopathology, which studies whole tissues) and cytopathologic tests are sometimes called smear tests because the samples may be smeared across a glass microscope slide for subsequent staining and microscopic examination. However, cytology samples may be prepared in other ways, including cytocentrifugation . Dermatopathology

2280-418: A wide variety of diseases, including those caused by fungi , oomycetes , bacteria , viruses , viroids , virus-like organisms, phytoplasmas , protozoa , nematodes and parasitic plants . Damage caused by insects , mites , vertebrate , and other small herbivores is not considered a part of the domain of plant pathology. The field is connected to plant disease epidemiology and especially concerned with

2394-452: A wound on the upper arm, but proximal to a wound on the lower arm. The terms are also applied to internal anatomy, such as to the reproductive tract of snails . Unfortunately, different authors use the terms in opposite senses. Some consider "distal" as further from a point of origin near the centre of the body and others as further from where the organ reaches the body's surface; or other points of origin may be envisaged. This terminology

SECTION 20

#1732776580186

2508-674: Is bipedal or quadrupedal . Additionally, for some animals such as invertebrates , some terms may not have any meaning at all; for example, an animal that is radially symmetrical will have no anterior surface, but can still have a description that a part is close to the middle ("proximal") or further from the middle ("distal"). International organisations have determined vocabularies that are often used as standards for subdisciplines of anatomy. For example, Terminologia Anatomica for humans and Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria for animals. These allow parties that use anatomical terms, such as anatomists , veterinarians , and medical doctors , to have

2622-496: Is a more recently developed neuropathology test in which a punch skin biopsy is taken to identify small fiber neuropathies by analyzing the nerve fibers of the skin. This test is becoming available in select labs as well as many universities; it replaces the traditional nerve biopsy test as less invasive . Pulmonary pathology is a subspecialty of anatomic (and especially surgical) pathology that deals with diagnosis and characterization of neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases of

2736-445: Is a small piece of tissue removed primarily for surgical pathology analysis, most often in order to render a definitive diagnosis. Types of biopsies include core biopsies, which are obtained through the use of large-bore needles, sometimes under the guidance of radiological techniques such as ultrasound , CT scan , or magnetic resonance imaging . Incisional biopsies are obtained through diagnostic surgical procedures that remove part of

2850-428: Is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology that focuses on the skin and the rest of the integumentary system as an organ. It is unique, in that there are two paths a physician can take to obtain the specialization. All general pathologists and general dermatologists train in the pathology of the skin, so the term dermatopathologist denotes either of these who has reached a certain level of accreditation and experience; in

2964-413: Is also employed in molecular biology and therefore by extension is also used in chemistry, specifically referring to the atomic loci of molecules from the overall moiety of a given compound. Central and peripheral refer to the distance towards and away from the centre of something. That might be an organ, a region in the body, or an anatomical structure. For example, the central nervous system and

3078-404: Is also heavily, and increasingly, informed upon by neuroscience and other of the biological cognitive sciences . Mental or social disorders or behaviours seen as generally unhealthy or excessive in a given individual, to the point where they cause harm or severe disruption to the person's lifestyle, are often called "pathological" (e.g., pathological gambling or pathological liar ). Although

3192-534: Is also possible to take a Royal College of Pathologists diploma in forensic pathology, dermatopathology, or cytopathology, recognising additional specialist training and expertise and to get specialist accreditation in forensic pathology, pediatric pathology , and neuropathology. All postgraduate medical training and education in the UK is overseen by the General Medical Council. In France, pathology

3306-411: Is considered a subfield of anatomical pathology. A physician who specializes in neuropathology, usually by completing a fellowship after a residency in anatomical or general pathology, is called a neuropathologist. In day-to-day clinical practice, a neuropathologist generates diagnoses for patients. If a disease of the nervous system is suspected, and the diagnosis cannot be made by less invasive methods,

3420-439: Is divided into a number of subdisciplines within the distinct but deeply interconnected aims of biological research and medical practice . Biomedical research into disease incorporates the work of a vast variety of life science specialists, whereas, in most parts of the world, to be licensed to practice pathology as a medical specialty, one has to complete medical school and secure a license to practice medicine. Structurally,

3534-554: Is from Joseph Paul Jernigan , a 39-year-old Texas murderer who was executed by lethal injection on August 5, 1993. At the prompting of a prison chaplain he had agreed to donate his body for scientific research or medical use, without knowing about the Visible Human Project. Some people have voiced ethical concerns over this. One of the most notable statements came from the University of Vienna , which demanded that

Visible Human Project - Misplaced Pages Continue

3648-595: Is named) having developed methods of diagnosis and prognosis for a number of diseases. The medical practices of the Romans and those of the Byzantines continued from these Greek roots, but, as with many areas of scientific inquiry, growth in understanding of medicine stagnated somewhat after the Classical Era , but continued to slowly develop throughout numerous cultures. Notably, many advances were made in

3762-456: Is often applied in a context that is as much scientific as directly medical and encompasses the development of molecular and genetic approaches to the diagnosis and classification of human diseases, the design and validation of predictive biomarkers for treatment response and disease progression, and the susceptibility of individuals of different genetic constitution to particular disorders. The crossover between molecular pathology and epidemiology

3876-402: Is proximal and the hand is distal. "Proximal and distal" are frequently used when describing appendages , such as fins , tentacles , and limbs . Although the direction indicated by "proximal" and "distal" is always respectively towards or away from the point of attachment, a given structure can be either proximal or distal in relation to another point of reference. Thus the elbow is distal to

3990-402: Is rarely used in human anatomy, apart from embryology, and refers more to the front of the face than the superior aspect of the organism. Similarly, the term "caudal" is used more in embryology and only occasionally used in human anatomy. This is because the brain is situated at the superior part of the head whereas the nose is situated in the anterior part. Thus, the "rostrocaudal axis" refers to

4104-715: Is represented by a related field " molecular pathological epidemiology ". Molecular pathology is commonly used in diagnosis of cancer and infectious diseases. Molecular Pathology is primarily used to detect cancers such as melanoma, brainstem glioma, brain tumors as well as many other types of cancer and infectious diseases. Techniques are numerous but include quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), multiplex PCR , DNA microarray , in situ hybridization , DNA sequencing , antibody-based immunofluorescence tissue assays, molecular profiling of pathogens, and analysis of bacterial genes for antimicrobial resistance . Techniques used are based on analyzing samples of DNA and RNA. Pathology

4218-481: Is roughly symmetrical. To do this, distinct ends of an organism are chosen, and the axis is named according to those directions. An organism that is symmetrical on both sides has three main axes that intersect at right angles . An organism that is round or not symmetrical may have different axes. Example axes are: Examples of axes in specific animals are shown below. Several terms are commonly seen and used as prefixes : Other terms are used as suffixes , added to

4332-411: Is separated into two distinct specialties, anatomical pathology, and clinical pathology. Residencies for both lasts four years. Residency in anatomical pathology is open to physicians only, while clinical pathology is open to both physicians and pharmacists . At the end of the second year of clinical pathology residency, residents can choose between general clinical pathology and a specialization in one of

4446-427: Is sometimes considered to fall within the domain of clinical pathology. Hematopathology is the study of diseases of blood cells (including constituents such as white blood cells , red blood cells , and platelets ) and the tissues, and organs comprising the hematopoietic system. The term hematopoietic system refers to tissues and organs that produce and/or primarily host hematopoietic cells and includes bone marrow ,

4560-427: Is sometimes used to indicate a state of disease in cases of both physical ailment (as in cardiomyopathy ) and psychological conditions (such as psychopathy ). A physician practicing pathology is called a pathologist . As a field of general inquiry and research, pathology addresses components of disease: cause, mechanisms of development ( pathogenesis ), structural alterations of cells (morphologic changes), and

4674-530: Is the best and most definitive evidence of disease (or lack thereof) in cases where tissue is surgically removed from a patient. These determinations are usually accomplished by a combination of gross (i.e., macroscopic) and histologic (i.e., microscopic) examination of the tissue, and may involve evaluations of molecular properties of the tissue by immunohistochemistry or other laboratory tests. There are two major types of specimens submitted for surgical pathology analysis: biopsies and surgical resections. A biopsy

Visible Human Project - Misplaced Pages Continue

4788-423: Is the generating of visual representations of the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention. Medical imaging reveals details of internal physiology that help medical professionals plan appropriate treatments for tissue infection and trauma. Medical imaging is also central in supplying the biometric data necessary to establish baseline features of anatomy and physiology so as to increase

4902-505: Is to classify mental illness, elucidate its underlying causes, and guide clinical psychiatric treatment accordingly. Although diagnosis and classification of mental norms and disorders is largely the purview of psychiatry—the results of which are guidelines such as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders , which attempt to classify mental disease mostly on behavioural evidence, though not without controversy —the field

5016-458: Is to the head or tail of an animal. To describe how close to the head of an animal something is, three distinct terms are used: For example, in horses , the eyes are caudal to the nose and rostral to the back of the head. These terms are generally preferred in veterinary medicine and not used as often in human medicine. In humans, "cranial" and "cephalic" are used to refer to the skull, with "cranial" being used more commonly. The term "rostral"

5130-434: Is to the midline, or the medial plane. Lateral (from Latin lateralis  'to the side') describes something to the sides of an animal, as in "left lateral" and "right lateral". Medial (from Latin medius  'middle') describes structures close to the midline, or closer to the midline than another structure. For example, in a human, the arms are lateral to the torso . The genitals are medial to

5244-615: Is widely used for gene therapy and disease diagnosis. Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology is one of nine dental specialties recognized by the American Dental Association , and is sometimes considered a specialty of both dentistry and pathology. Oral Pathologists must complete three years of post doctoral training in an accredited program and subsequently obtain diplomate status from the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology. The specialty focuses on

5358-495: The Ancient Greek roots pathos ( πάθος ), meaning "experience" or "suffering", and -logia ( -λογία ), meaning "study of". The term is of early 16th-century origin, and became increasingly popularized after the 1530s. The study of pathology, including the detailed examination of the body, including dissection and inquiry into specific maladies, dates back to antiquity. Rudimentary understanding of many conditions

5472-489: The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus who led the NIH-funded project, releasing a video documentary in 2018. By the time Potter met Spitzer in 2000, she had gone through 26 surgeries and had been diagnosed with melanoma , breast cancer and diabetes : her participation in the Visible Human Project marked a significant departure from the original goals of the project, which up until then had only focused on

5586-478: The anatomy of animals , including humans . The terms, typically derived from Latin or Greek roots, describe something in its standard anatomical position . This position provides a definition of what is at the front ("anterior"), behind ("posterior") and so on. As part of defining and describing terms, the body is described through the use of anatomical planes and anatomical axes . The meaning of terms that are used can change depending on whether an organism

5700-438: The anterior superior iliac spine , the medial malleolus or the medial epicondyle . Anatomical lines are used to describe anatomical location. For example, the mid-clavicular line is used as part of the cardiac exam in medicine to feel the apex beat of the heart . Special terms are used to describe the mouth and teeth. Fields such as osteology , palaeontology and dentistry apply special terms of location to describe

5814-449: The head . Anterior (from Latin ante  'before') describes what is in front, and posterior (from Latin post  'after') describes what is to the back of something. For example, for a dog the nose is anterior to the eyes and the tail is considered the most posterior part; for many fish the gill openings are posterior to the eyes but anterior to the tail. These terms describe how close something

SECTION 50

#1732776580186

5928-409: The kidneys . In a medical setting, renal pathologists work closely with nephrologists and transplant surgeons , who typically obtain diagnostic specimens via percutaneous renal biopsy. The renal pathologist must synthesize findings from traditional microscope histology, electron microscopy , and immunofluorescence to obtain a definitive diagnosis. Medical renal diseases may affect the glomerulus ,

6042-416: The lungs and thoracic pleura . Diagnostic specimens are often obtained via bronchoscopic transbronchial biopsy, CT -guided percutaneous biopsy, or video-assisted thoracic surgery . These tests can be necessary to diagnose between infection, inflammation , or fibrotic conditions. Renal pathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology that deals with the diagnosis and characterization of disease of

6156-488: The lymph nodes , thymus , spleen , and other lymphoid tissues. In the United States, hematopathology is a board certified subspecialty (licensed under the American Board of Pathology) practiced by those physicians who have completed a general pathology residency (anatomic, clinical, or combined) and an additional year of fellowship training in hematology. The hematopathologist reviews biopsies of lymph nodes, bone marrows and other tissues involved by an infiltrate of cells of

6270-648: The neuraxis is different between the two groups, and so is what is considered the standard anatomical position , such as how humans tend to be standing upright and with their arms reaching forward. Thus, the "top" of a human is the head, whereas the "top" of a dog would be the back, and the "top" of a flounder may be on either the left or right side. Unique terms are also used to describe invertebrates as well, because of their wider variety of shapes and symmetry. Because animals can change orientation with respect to their environment, and because appendages like limbs and tentacles can change position with respect to

6384-467: The pectoralis major muscle). In radiology , an X-ray image may be said to be "anteroposterior", indicating that the beam of X-rays, known as its projection, passes from their source to patient's anterior body wall first, then through the body to exit through posterior body wall and into the detector/film to produce a radiograph. The opposite is true for the term "posteroanterior," while side-to-side projections are known as either "lateromedial" (from

6498-415: The peripheral nervous systems . Central (from Latin centralis ) describes something close to the centre. For example, the great vessels run centrally through the body; many smaller vessels branch from these. Peripheral (from Latin peripheria , originally from Ancient Greek ) describes something further away from the centre of something. For example, the arm is peripheral to

6612-475: The tubules and interstitium , the vessels, or a combination of these compartments. Surgical pathology is one of the primary areas of practice for most anatomical pathologists. Surgical pathology involves the gross and microscopic examination of surgical specimens, as well as biopsies submitted by surgeons and non-surgeons such as general internists , medical subspecialists , dermatologists , and interventional radiologists . Often an excised tissue sample

6726-488: The 17th century, the study of rudimentary microscopy was underway and examination of tissues had led British Royal Society member Robert Hooke to coin the word " cell ", setting the stage for later germ theory . Modern pathology began to develop as a distinct field of inquiry during the 19th Century through natural philosophers and physicians that studied disease and the informal study of what they termed "pathological anatomy" or "morbid anatomy". However, pathology as

6840-534: The American Board of Pathology: [anatomical pathology and clinical pathology, each of which requires separate board certification. The American Osteopathic Board of Pathology also recognizes four primary specialties: anatomic pathology, dermatopathology, forensic pathology, and laboratory medicine . Pathologists may pursue specialised fellowship training within one or more subspecialties of either anatomical or clinical pathology. Some of these subspecialties permit additional board certification, while others do not. In

6954-487: The US, either a general pathologist or a dermatologist can undergo a 1 to 2 year fellowship in the field of dermatopathology. The completion of this fellowship allows one to take a subspecialty board examination, and becomes a board certified dermatopathologist. Dermatologists are able to recognize most skin diseases based on their appearances, anatomic distributions, and behavior. Sometimes, however, those criteria do not lead to

SECTION 60

#1732776580186

7068-696: The United Kingdom, pathologists are physicians licensed by the UK General Medical Council . The training to become a pathologist is under the oversight of the Royal College of Pathologists . After four to six years of undergraduate medical study, trainees proceed to a two-year foundation program. Full-time training in histopathology currently lasts between five and five and a half years and includes specialist training in surgical pathology, cytopathology, and autopsy pathology. It

7182-429: The accuracy with which early or fine-detail abnormalities are detected. These diagnostic techniques are often performed in combination with general pathology procedures and are themselves often essential to developing new understanding of the pathogenesis of a given disease and tracking the progress of disease in specific medical cases. Examples of important subdivisions in medical imaging include radiology (which uses

7296-429: The activity of specific molecular pathways in the tumor. Surgical resection specimens are obtained by the therapeutic surgical removal of an entire diseased area or organ (and occasionally multiple organs). These procedures are often intended as definitive surgical treatment of a disease in which the diagnosis is already known or strongly suspected, but pathological analysis of these specimens remains important in confirming

7410-423: The basis of the involved sample types (comparing, for example, cytopathology , hematopathology , and histopathology ), organs (as in renal pathology ), and physiological systems ( oral pathology ), as well as on the basis of the focus of the examination (as with forensic pathology ). Pathology is a significant field in modern medical diagnosis and medical research . The Latin term pathology derives from

7524-400: The body in a standing position with arms at the side and palms facing forward, with thumbs out and to the sides. Many anatomical terms can be combined, either to indicate a position in two axes simultaneously or to indicate the direction of a movement relative to the body. For example, "anterolateral" indicates a position that is both anterior and lateral to the body axis (such as the bulk of

7638-570: The body. These terms refer to the distance of a structure from the surface. Deep (from Old English ) describes something further away from the surface of the organism. For example, the external oblique muscle of the abdomen is deep to the skin. "Deep" is one of the few anatomical terms of location derived from Old English rather than Latin – the anglicised Latin term would have been "profound" (from Latin profundus  'due to depth'). Superficial (from Latin superficies  'surface') describes something near

7752-417: The closeness to the midline of the dental arch. Terms used to describe structures include "buccal" (from Latin bucca  'cheek') and "palatal" (from Latin palatum  'palate') referring to structures close to the cheek and hard palate respectively. Several anatomical terms are particular to the hands and feet. Additional terms may be used to avoid confusion when describing

7866-399: The consequences of changes (clinical manifestations). In common medical practice, general pathology is mostly concerned with analyzing known clinical abnormalities that are markers or precursors for both infectious and non-infectious disease, and is conducted by experts in one of two major specialties, anatomical pathology and clinical pathology . Further divisions in specialty exist on

7980-525: The diagnosis, clinical management and investigation of diseases that affect the oral cavity and surrounding maxillofacial structures including but not limited to odontogenic , infectious, epithelial , salivary gland , bone and soft tissue pathologies. It also significantly intersects with the field of dental pathology . Although concerned with a broad variety of diseases of the oral cavity, they have roles distinct from otorhinolaryngologists ("ear, nose, and throat" specialists), and speech pathologists ,

8094-442: The disciplines, but they can not practice anatomical pathology, nor can anatomical pathology residents practice clinical pathology. Though separate fields in terms of medical practice, a number of areas of inquiry in medicine and medical science either overlap greatly with general pathology, work in tandem with it, or contribute significantly to the understanding of the pathology of a given disease or its course in an individual. As

8208-444: The dissection and imaging of healthy bodies. Freezing caused the brain of the man to be slightly swollen, and his middle ear ossicles were lost during preparation of the slices. Nerves are hard to make out since they have almost the same color as fat , but many have nevertheless been identified. Small blood vessels were collapsed by the freezing process. Tendons are difficult to cut cleanly, and they occasionally smear across

8322-421: The end of words: Superior (from Latin super  'above') describes what is above something and inferior (from Latin inferus  'below') describes what is below it. For example, in the anatomical position , the most superior part of the human body is the head and the most inferior is the feet. As a second example, in humans, the neck is superior to the chest but inferior to

8436-420: The examination of a biopsy or surgical specimen by a pathologist, after the specimen has been processed and histological sections have been placed onto glass slides. This contrasts with the methods of cytopathology, which uses free cells or tissue fragments. Histopathological examination of tissues starts with surgery , biopsy , or autopsy. The tissue is removed from the body of an organism and then placed in

8550-454: The foot. Pathologies Pathology is the study of disease . The word pathology also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in the context of modern medical treatment, the term is often used in a narrower fashion to refer to processes and tests that fall within the contemporary medical field of "general pathology", an area that includes

8664-417: The hand') is commonly used to describe the front of the hand, and dorsal is the back of the hand. For example, the top of a dog 's paw is its dorsal surface; the underside, either the palmar (on the forelimb) or the plantar (on the hindlimb) surface. The palmar fascia is palmar to the tendons of muscles which flex the fingers, and the dorsal venous arch is so named because it is on the dorsal side of

8778-504: The hematopoietic system. In addition, the hematopathologist may be in charge of flow cytometric and/or molecular hematopathology studies. Molecular pathology is focused upon the study and diagnosis of disease through the examination of molecules within organs, tissues or bodily fluids . Molecular pathology is multidisciplinary by nature and shares some aspects of practice with both anatomic pathology and clinical pathology, molecular biology , biochemistry , proteomics and genetics . It

8892-425: The human host. To determine causes of diseases, medical experts used the most common and widely accepted assumptions or symptoms of their times, a general principle of approach that persists in modern medicine. Modern medicine was particularly advanced by further developments of the microscope to analyze tissues, to which Rudolf Virchow gave a significant contribution, leading to a slew of research developments. By

9006-431: The identity of a corpse. The requirements for becoming a licensed practitioner of forensic pathology varies from country to country (and even within a given nation ) but typically a minimal requirement is a medical doctorate with a specialty in general or anatomical pathology with subsequent study in forensic medicine. The methods forensic scientists use to determine death include examination of tissue specimens to identify

9120-432: The images be withdrawn with reference to the point that the medical profession should have no association with executions, and that the donor's informed consent could be scrutinized. The 59-year-old female donor remains anonymous. In the press she has been described as a Maryland housewife who died from a heart attack and whose husband requested that she be part of the project. In 2000, Susan Potter —a cancer patient and

9234-490: The imaging technologies of X-ray radiography ) magnetic resonance imaging , medical ultrasonography (or ultrasound), endoscopy , elastography , tactile imaging , thermography , medical photography , nuclear medicine and functional imaging techniques such as positron emission tomography . Though they do not strictly relay images, readings from diagnostics tests involving electroencephalography , magnetoencephalography , and electrocardiography often give hints as to

9348-435: The largest body of research in veterinary pathology. Animal testing remains a controversial practice, even in cases where it is used to research treatment for human disease. As in human medical pathology, the practice of veterinary pathology is customarily divided into the two main fields of anatomical and clinical pathology. Although the pathogens and their mechanics differ greatly from those of animals, plants are subject to

9462-431: The late 1920s to early 1930s pathology was deemed a medical specialty. Combined with developments in the understanding of general physiology , by the beginning of the 20th century, the study of pathology had begun to split into a number of distinct fields, resulting in the development of a large number of modern specialties within pathology and related disciplines of diagnostic medicine . The modern practice of pathology

9576-435: The latter of which helps diagnose many neurological or neuromuscular conditions relevant to speech phonology or swallowing . Owing to the availability of the oral cavity to non-invasive examination, many conditions in the study of oral disease can be diagnosed, or at least suspected, from gross examination, but biopsies, cell smears, and other tissue analysis remain important diagnostic tools in oral pathology. Becoming

9690-512: The legs. Temporal has a similar meaning to lateral but is restricted to the head. The terms "left" and "right" are sometimes used, or their Latin alternatives ( Latin : dexter , lit.   'right'; Latin : sinister , lit.   'left'). However, it is preferred to use more precise terms where possible. Terms derived from lateral include: Varus (from Latin  'bow-legged') and valgus (from Latin  'knock-kneed' ) are terms used to describe

9804-448: The level of the fourth cervical vertebra may be abbreviated as "C4", at the level of the fourth thoracic vertebra "T4", and at the level of the third lumbar vertebra "L3". Because the sacrum and coccyx are fused, they are not often used to provide the location. References may also take origin from superficial anatomy , made to landmarks that are on the skin or visible underneath. For example, structures may be described relative to

9918-401: The main body, terms to describe position need to refer to an animal when it is in its standard anatomical position . This means descriptions as if the organism is in its standard anatomical position, even when the organism in question has appendages in another position. This helps avoid confusion in terminology when referring to the same organism in different postures. In humans, this refers to

10032-586: The majority of these goals, the VH Dissector from Touch of Life Technologies and from Voxel-Man the VOXEL-MAN 3D Navigator Inner Organs - now freely downloadable . NLM itself has started an open source project, the Insight Toolkit , whose aim is to automatically deduce organ boundaries from the data. The data were used for Alexander Tsiaras 's book and CD-ROM Body Voyage , which features

10146-448: The mechanisms of action for these pathogens in non-human hosts is essential to the understanding and application of epidemiology and 2) those animals that share physiological and genetic traits with humans can be used as surrogates for the study of the disease and potential treatments as well as the effects of various synthetic products. For this reason, as well as their roles as livestock and companion animals , mammals generally have

10260-551: The medieval era of Islam (see Medicine in medieval Islam ), during which numerous texts of complex pathologies were developed, also based on the Greek tradition. Even so, growth in complex understanding of disease mostly languished until knowledge and experimentation again began to proliferate in the Renaissance , Enlightenment , and Baroque eras, following the resurgence of the empirical method at new centers of scholarship. By

10374-456: The mouth and teeth. This is because although teeth may be aligned with their main axes within the jaw, some different relationships require special terminology as well; for example, teeth also can be rotated, and in such contexts terms like "anterior" or "lateral" become ambiguous. For example, the terms "distal" and "proximal" are also redefined to mean the distance away or close to the dental arch , and "medial" and "lateral" are used to refer to

10488-400: The outer surface of the organism. For example, in skin , the epidermis is superficial to the subcutis . These two terms, used in anatomy and embryology , describe something at the back ( dorsal ) or front/belly ( ventral ) of an organism. The dorsal (from Latin dorsum  'back') surface of an organism refers to the back, or upper side, of an organism. If talking about

10602-402: The outside of the left or right side of the body toward the inside) or "mediolateral"(from the inside of that side of the body toward the outside. The same logic is applied to all planes of the body and, thus top-to-bottom or bottom-to-top X-ray projections are known as "superoinferior" and "inferosuperior," respectively. However, within the diagnostic imaging industry, for this particular example,

10716-517: The pelvic region and the location of the urinary bladder and prostate . The data may be bought on tape or downloaded free of charge; Currently no license agreement is required to access or download the dataset, however general terms and conditions apply requiring acknowledgement of the National Library of Medicine with any use. Prior to 2019, one had to specify the intended use and sign a license agreement that allows NLM to use and modify

10830-518: The presence or absence of natural disease and other microscopic findings, interpretations of toxicology on body tissues and fluids to determine the chemical cause of overdoses, poisonings or other cases involving toxic agents, and examinations of physical trauma . Forensic pathology is a major component in the trans-disciplinary field of forensic science . Histopathology refers to the microscopic examination of various forms of human tissue . Specifically, in clinical medicine, histopathology refers to

10944-477: The previous 1,500 years in European medicine. With the new understanding of causative agents, physicians began to compare the characteristics of one germ's symptoms as they developed within an affected individual to another germ's characteristics and symptoms. This approach led to the foundational understanding that diseases are able to replicate themselves, and that they can have many profound and varied effects on

11058-485: The previous diagnosis. Clinical pathology is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the laboratory analysis of bodily fluids such as blood and urine , as well as tissues, using the tools of chemistry , clinical microbiology , hematology and molecular pathology. Clinical pathologists work in close collaboration with medical technologists , hospital administrations, and referring physicians. Clinical pathologists learn to administer

11172-448: The resulting application. NLM can cancel the agreement at any time, at which point the user has to erase the data files. Various projects to make the raw data more useful for educational purposes are under way. It is necessary to build a three-dimensional virtual model of the body where the organs are labeled, may be removed selectively and viewed from all sides, and ideally are even animated. Two commercial software products accomplish

11286-508: The resulting pathology report describes the histological findings and the opinion of the pathologist. In the case of cancer, this represents the tissue diagnosis required for most treatment protocols. Neuropathology is the study of disease of nervous system tissue, usually in the form of either surgical biopsies or sometimes whole brains in the case of autopsy. Neuropathology is a subspecialty of anatomic pathology, neurology , and neurosurgery . In many English-speaking countries, neuropathology

11400-607: The skin exist, including cutaneous eruptions (" rashes ") and neoplasms . Therefore, dermatopathologists must maintain a broad base of knowledge in clinical dermatology, and be familiar with several other specialty areas in Medicine. Forensic pathology focuses on determining the cause of death by post-mortem examination of a corpse or partial remains. An autopsy is typically performed by a coroner or medical examiner, often during criminal investigations; in this role, coroners and medical examiners are also frequently asked to confirm

11514-442: The skull, the dorsal side is the top. The ventral (from Latin venter  'belly') surface refers to the front, or lower side, of an organism. For example, in a fish, the pectoral fins are dorsal to the anal fin , but ventral to the dorsal fin . The terms are used in other contexts; for example dorsal and ventral gun turrets on a bomber aircraft. Specific terms exist to describe how close or far something

11628-440: The slice surfaces. The male has only one testicle , is missing his appendix , and has tissue deterioration at the site of lethal injection. Also visible are tissue damage to the dorsum of each forearm by formalin injection and damage to the right sartorius from opening the right femoral vein for drainage. The male was also not "cut" while in standard anatomical position , so the cuts through his arms are oblique. The female

11742-528: The specimen and leaves no usable or preservable "slice" of the cadaver. The data are supplemented by axial sections of the whole body obtained by computed tomography , axial sections of the head and neck obtained by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and coronal sections of the rest of the body also obtained by MRI. The scanning, slicing, and photographing took place at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus , where additional cutting of anatomical specimens continues to take place. The male cadaver

11856-517: The state and function of certain tissues in the brain and heart respectively. Pathology informatics is a subfield of health informatics . It is the use of information technology in pathology. It encompasses pathology laboratory operations, data analysis, and the interpretation of pathology-related information. Key aspects of pathology informatics include: Psychopathology is the study of mental illness , particularly of severe disorders. Informed heavily by both psychology and neurology , its purpose

11970-474: The study of disease is divided into many different fields that study or diagnose markers for disease using methods and technologies particular to specific scales, organs , and tissue types. Anatomical pathology ( Commonwealth ) or anatomic pathology ( United States ) is a medical specialty that is concerned with the diagnosis of disease based on the gross , microscopic , chemical, immunologic and molecular examination of organs, tissues, and whole bodies (as in

12084-460: The surfaces of the hand and what is the "anterior" or "posterior" surface. The term "anterior", while anatomically correct, can be confusing when describing the palm of the hand; Similarly is "posterior", used to describe the back of the hand and arm. This confusion can arise because the forearm can pronate and supinate and flip the location of the hand. For improved clarity, the directional term palmar (from Latin palma  'palm of

12198-429: The terms "cranial" (towards the head) and "caudal" (towards the tail, or, downwards, away from the head) are known interchangeable alternatives to the previous two projection terms. Combined terms were once generally hyphenated, but the modern tendency is to omit the hyphen. Anatomical terms describe structures with relation to four main anatomical planes : The axes of the body are lines drawn about which an organism

12312-404: The terms often is context-sensitive. Much of this information has been standardised in internationally agreed vocabularies for humans ( Terminologia Anatomica ) and animals ( Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria ). Different terms are used for groups of creatures with different body layouts, such as bipeds (creatures that stand on two feet, such as humans) and quadrupeds . The reasoning is that

12426-452: The tissue and blood analysis techniques of general pathology are of central significance to the investigation of serious infectious disease and as such inform significantly upon the fields of epidemiology , etiology , immunology , and parasitology . General pathology methods are of great importance to biomedical research into disease, wherein they are sometimes referred to as "experimental" or "investigative" pathology . Medical imaging

12540-474: The vast majority of lab work and research in pathology concerns the development of disease in humans, pathology is of significance throughout the biological sciences. Two main catch-all fields exist to represent most complex organisms capable of serving as host to a pathogen or other form of disease: veterinary pathology (concerned with all non-human species of kingdom of Animalia ) and phytopathology , which studies disease in plants. Veterinary pathology covers

12654-611: The visible human project include: multiple interactive anatomy computer software programs ( Primal Pictures /Anatomy.tv, Anatomage), multimodality image restoration for hospital patients, body system relationships, and volumetric data. The male data set was used in "Project 12:31", a series of photographic light paintings by Croix Gagnon and Frank Schott, and is the male Caucasian cadaver on the Anatomage Table 6.0 application. Anatomical directions Standard anatomical terms of location are used to describe unambiguously

12768-411: Was cut into slices at 0.33-millimeter intervals, resulting in some 40 gigabytes of data. The term "cut" is a bit of a misnomer , yet it is used to describe the process of grinding away the top surface of a specimen at regular intervals. The term "slice", also a misnomer, refers to the revealed surface of the specimen to be photographed; the process of grinding the surface away is entirely destructive to

12882-404: Was missing 14 body parts, including nose cartilage. The reproductive organs of the woman are not representative of those of a young woman. The specimen contains several pathologies , including cardiovascular disease and diverticulitis . By studying the data set, researchers at Columbia University found several errors in anatomy textbooks related to males, regarding the shape of a muscle in

12996-512: Was present in most early societies and is attested to in the records of the earliest historical societies , including those of the Middle East , India , and China . By the Hellenic period of ancient Greece , a concerted causal study of disease was underway (see Medicine in ancient Greece ), with many notable early physicians (such as Hippocrates , for whom the modern Hippocratic Oath

#185814