Word parts
What it means
The branch of medicine that studies how disease changes the body. Pathologists examine tissue, cells and body fluids, as from a biopsy or autopsy, to make a diagnosis. The laboratory department that does this is also called pathology. In everyday clinical speech, "pathology" can mean the disease itself ("no acute pathology seen").
For the nurse
Label tissue specimens at the bedside with the client's identifiers and the site, and send them in the right container and solution, as a lost or mislabeled sample may not be replaceable.
At a glance
| Spanish | patología |
|---|---|
| Also written | pathologies, pathological, pathologic |