ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the pathologists describe their expertise as a visual skill — a 'microscopic gaze'. Although 'nature' in the form of the biological raw material of the human body constitutes the objects of their work, subjectivity is projected into the tissues. Microscopy of tissue samples constitutes the everyday work done by pathologists. The tissues are treated as objects to be examined or acted upon, and the examination of the disease is totally decontextualised from the patient. The mandate to deconstruct mortality by being experts on the cause of a disease had generated a need for collective work to overcome uncertainty. The chapter examines the work of pathologists, in particular how they describe their craft skill: visualisation of disease through microscopy. To counter the emotions surrounding their work, pathologists have developed their own occupational language and humour, to be able to describe among themselves the work they are doing.
