What is the difference between anatomical and clinical pathology?

Hello,

• The word "pathology" means the study of diseases processes. Pathology involves examining the cause of illness, how it develops, the effect of the illness on cells and the outcome of the illness.

The aspects of illness that may be studied include cellular pathology, cell necrosis or cell death, wound healing, cancer formation and inflammation. A combination of both anatomical pathology and clinical pathology is termed general pathology.

For a person to qualify as a pathologist, they need to complete a medical degree and a residency program that leads to certification from approved boards.

• Anatomical pathology

This area of pathology involves the examination of surgical specimens removed from the body or sometimes the examination of the whole body (autopsy) to investigate and daignose disease. On examining a biopsy, the following aspects are considered:

-Gross anatomical make up of the sample
-Microscopic appearance of cells
-Chemical signatures in the sample
-Immunological markers present in the cells
-Molecular biology of the cells, organs, tissues and sometimes whole body.

• Clinical pathology

This branch of pathology involves the laboratory analysis of body fluids (such as blood, urine or cerebrospinal fluid) and bodily tissue for the diagnosis of disease. Some of the main subspecialities of clinical pathology include:

-Chemical pathology, also called clinical chemistry, involves the assessment of various components in bodily fluids such as the blood or urine, although for the main part it concerns the analysis of blood serum and plasma.
-Immunology or immunopathology refers to the study of immune system disorders such as immunodeficiencies, organ-transplant rejection and allergies.
-Hematology or hematopathology concerns the investigation and diagnosis of blood diseases.

• Anatomic pathology relates to the processing, examination, and diagnosis of surgical specimens by a physician trained in pathological diagnosis. Clinical pathology is the division that processes the test requests more familiar to the general public; such as blood cell counts, coagulation studies, urinalysis, blood glucose level determinations and throat cultures. Its subsections include chemistry, hematology, microbiology, immunology, urinalysis and blood bank.

Sources: http://www.news-medical.net/health/Types-of-Pathology.aspx
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomical_pathology

Good Luck!