Tissue and Molecular Diagnosis

In the past, tissue diagnosis was restricted to macroscopic examination of autopsy material and of a limited range of surgical specimens. In the nineteenth century, microscopic examination of human tissue from autopsies and surgical procedures was introduced, and its value was accepted eventually by physicians and surgeons. Tissue analysis is now an integral and routine element of clinical management. It is heavily dependent on microscopy and is usually the responsibility of a histopathologist, who is a medically qualified practitioner. The specialty variably known as Histopathology, Anatomic Pathology or Cellular Pathology, encompasses histopathology, cytopathology, autopsy work and molecular pathological tissue diagnosis.