Histopathology
The branch of pathology that involves looking at tissue under the microscope to diagnose disease is called histopathology.
If you have a mole or a breast lump removed, the histopathologist will examine it to determine what it is. Such removed tissue samples can, with the patient’s consent, be preserved and retained for teaching purposes.
"Pots"
Preserved tissue specimens used for training and teaching pathology are sometimes referred to as “pots”. These pots are held in a few specialist museums across the UK and form a remarkable archive of disease; some collections hold hundreds of specimens dating back over three centuries. Many show examples of disease of a severity rarely seen today, current therapies often slow disease progression, and diagnostic techniques allow diseases to be detected earlier.
e-Path is a web based educational resource being developed by the Royal College of Pathologists and e-learning for Healthcare at the Department of Health, supporting medical and healthcare science trainees in the seven main pathology specialties. The e-path project team has joined forces with Professor Sebastian Lucas at King's College London and Guys and St Thomas' NHS Trust to create an online virtual collection using the specimens held at the Gordon Museum in London.
National Pathology Week 2009
To mark National Pathology Week 2009, e-Path made several pots available online, demonstrating a variety of diseases.
