Position: Pathologist Field: Pathology Organisation: Capital and Coast District Health Board
Almost everyone who is admitted to hospital will need the services of a pathologist, but as a patient you will probably never get to meet one. A pathologist is a doctor who looks at the tissue or the fluid of the body and makes a diagnosis1 based on what they see or measure. Pathologists work behind the scenes and are vital in making diagnoses such as if a biopsy2 shows signs of cancer3. Rather than basing a diagnosis on the symptoms of the patient they look closely at specific cells and can tell not only if your cells are cancerous but whether the cancer is malignant4 or benign5, and therefore what the best treatment is likely to be.
Nature of Science
Our knowledge about our world is aided through the use of technology. Subtle differences in cell6 structure can be detected because of the use of dyes and the power7 of the microscope8. Science often relies on observable evidence9.
Catherine Koleda works for the Capital and Coast District Health Board in the pathology department at Wellington hospital. As doctors can not treat a patient until they know what the diagnosis is Dr Koleda must be able to make crucial judgements under pressure10. She must also be sure of her diagnosis as a misdiagnosis could result in some very unpleasant, unnecessary treatment, or worse, have a patient with cancer who goes untreated. Despite these pressures Catherine really enjoys her work.
Pathology is fascinating, the human body is fascinating, and it is a very visual subject. I really like understanding the body in terms of what cells and tissue look like.
“Very often a patient that comes to hospital is sick and cannot be treated until they have a diagnosis. So I like that about [pathology], I know I am doing something important.”
A cancer cell is different in appearance to a normal cell, and by staining the cells with a variety of dyes and markers11 these subtle changes can be made more visible, but to an untrained person these differences look small. A skilled pathologist must be able to detect a tiny number of cancerous cells in a background of thousands of normal cells. A good eye, experience and a good knowledge of what makes a cancer cell is important for a good pathologist.
This article is based on information current in 2008.
- diagnosis: The identification of disease through the examination of the symptoms.
- biopsy: The process of removing a small amount of tissue from living patients for diagnostic examination.
- cancer: The term for a group of more than 100 diseases in which abnormal cells divide and multiply uncontrollably.
- malignant: A medical term used to describe a disease or condition that is likely to cause death or serious disablement unless effectively treated. In skin cancer, a tumour that is cancerous and likely to spread if left untreated.
- benign: Not cancerous. Mild and non-progressive. Benign cells are not able to spread elsewhere in the body.
- cell: 1. Building block of the body. A human is made of millions of cells, which are adapted for different functions and can reproduce themselves exactly. 2. A simple electrolytic device that enables chemical energy to be transformed into electrical energy.
- power: 1. The rate at which work is done (defined as work divided by time taken). 2. Mechanical or physical energy, force or momentum.
- microscope: An instrument that uses a lens or a series of lenses to magnify small objects.
- evidence: Data, or information, used to prove or disprove something.
- pressure: The force per unit area that acts on the surface of an object.
- marker: A short sequence of DNA within a genome that can be readily detected. Markers are usually associated with a known gene and provide information about which allele(s) of the gene an individual is likely to carry.
