Anatomical pathology is the branch of pathology that looks at tissue structure and biopsies; it is extensively used in tumor diagnosis.
The procedures used in anatomical pathology :
- examination with the naked eye (this is important especially for large tissue fragments)
- examination of stained sections on glass slides with a microcope (most commonly haematoxylin and eosin - a pink and blue stain)
- examination with special stains for iron, organisms, calcium, elastic tissue, mucins etc
- examination with immunoperoxidase and immunofluorescence stains - special antibody type stains especially useful in tumour pathology, in some inflammatory skin diseases and renal biopsies
- Electron microscopy
- Tissue cytogenetics
See also : Forensic pathology