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| Pathology: A Career in Medicine |
| The Pathologist in Patient Care |
| Anatomic Pathology |
| A Case Study: Lung Cancer |
| Role of the Autopsy |
| Clinical Pathology |
| Molecular Pathology |
| The Pathologist as a Consultant |
| The Pathologist in Research |
| Case Study: Thyroid Cancer |
| Graduate Medical Education in Pathology |
| Career Options |
| The Pathologist as a Teacher |
| Undergraduate Study in Pathology |
| About ICPI |
| The Directory of Pathology Training Programs |
| The Road to Becoming a Biomedical Physician Scientist in Pathology and Laboratory Medicine |
| Certification in the US and Canada |
| Pathology: A Career in Medicine Brochure - Ordering Information |
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| A Case Study: Lung Cancer | |
 CT Scan |
A 46-year-old man who has been a heavy smoker
since the age of 16 complained of weakness, difficulty in swallowing and a
chronic cough. On physical exam his face showed acne and appeared congested,
and he had an elevated blood pressure. His serum calcium level was elevated.
A large mass was detected in the right lung by computed axial tomography (CT
scan). A radiologist performed a fine-needle aspiration (FNA) for diagnosis
by the pathologist. The diagnosis will determine whether further surgery is
required; the surgeon may modify the type and extent of resection depending
on the microscopic findings. Further, the microscopic evaluation of any
tissue yields not only the precise diagnosis, but also predictive
information about the extent and severity of the disorder. For example, if
it were a squamous cell carcinoma, complete removal might be attempted; if
the tumor was a small cell carcinoma, then radio- and chemo-therapy might be
the treatments selected. Sometimes, additional special stains, such as ones
using immunohistochemistry, assist in interpretation of the diagnosis, and
help to explain patient symptoms. In addition, clinically unsuspected
problems may be revealed by the pathologist's studies, using special
laboratory techniques. Cells can also be obtained for microscopic examination without recourse to surgery. Originally introduced for detection of female genital cancer - the "Pap smear", cytopathology principles are now applied to most other organ systems and their diseases using FNA and other methods for cell retrieval. For certain types of tissue, examination of cell aspirates can be just as rapidly diagnostic, and can replace frozen section biopsy.
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 Squamous Cell Carcinoma |
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