Pathology

Pathology deals with the study of the nature and cause of disease and the functional changes caused by disease through laboratory observation and experimentation. Specialties in pathology can range from teaching and research to practice of a special competency area. The clinical pathologist specializes in laboratory procedures concerned with the chemical and physiological variations of disease as seen in body fluids and secretions. An anatomic pathologist analyzes tissues removed during surgery or other medical procedures. A pathologist must spend four years in a residency training program after earning an M.D. degree.