On this page we'll take a closer look at some of the more common tests that are performed, why they are done and what the results indicate. In most large hospitals and medical centers, the clinical laboratory comes under the direction of a pathologist, so let's first take a look in the pathologist's lab and see what we can learn.
Pathologists are medical doctors who specialize in the science of disease (pathology), and are sometimes referred to as The doctors' Doctor. Whenever a surgical procedure is performed that requires the removal of tissue from the patient's body, that tissue is sent to the pathology laboratory, where it is examined by the pathologist, both grossly and microscopically. So it's fair to say that pathologists spend a great deal of their time peering through microscopes looking for any unexpected pathology in tissue samples, or confirming the diagnosis as to why the tissue had to be removed.
THE ORGAN BANK
