Pathology is the study of disease. A pathologist, who is a medical
doctor, looks at the causes of disease, how disease progresses, and how
disease affects the body. However, instead of examining the patient
physically, a pathologist examines the patient's bodily fluids and
tissue samples to help the primary physician make a diagnosis. Bryn Mawr
Hospital provides both anatomic and clinical pathology services.
Anatomic Pathology
Anatomic pathologists are primarily concerned with examining organs and
tissue samples to determine the causes and effects of disease. The
anatomic pathologists at Bryn Mawr Hospital use surgical pathology and
cytopathology, with a strong emphasis on fine needle aspiration, to
greatly enhance the detection of malignancy. They also use electron
microscopy to diagnose selected surgical pathology specimens, and
they conduct autopsies.
Clinical Pathology
Clinical pathologists work in labs and are primarily concerned with
examining bodily fluids (blood and urine, for example) to determine the
causes and effects of disease. Our clinical pathologists offer a
complete range of modern laboratory testing, from routine to more
complex procedures, including chemical, endocrinologic, toxicologic,
immunologic, flow cytometric, hematologic and microbiologic tests.
Main Line Health Laboratories provides clinical
laboratory testing for the patients of Bryn Mawr Hospital.
