Department of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
Neuropathology
A pathologist working in a private hospital or community center often receives brain, peripheral nerve and muscle material for diagnosis. To familiarize the pathology residents with practical aspects of neuropathology, this laboratory offers 1-3 month rotations. The program focuses on the basic concepts of neuropathology.To achieve this goal, the resident actively participates in all laboratory activities of neuropathology. He/she describes and cuts the received neurosurgical biopsy material and diagnoses the cases with the attending staff neuropathologist. The resident participates in the weekly brain cutting sessions, cutting selected cases.
There are several weekly and monthly conferences offered by the neuropathology laboratory for CME credits. These include quality assurance conference, neurological conference, and monthly neuropathology-neurosurgical grand rounds. The rotating resident is required to attend these conferences and actively participate in the case presentation.
This laboratory provides consultative services to several large hospitals (Good Samaritan Hospital, Christ Hospital and Veterans Hospital). The resident is involved in processing and diagnosis of the material from those centers.
In addition to current autopsy and biopsy material, there is a well organized study set available to the resident for individual review. This teaching module contains case histories, learning objectives, glass slides, gross Kodachromes, and pertinent references. Also, previous surgical and autopsy neuropathological cases are indexed and cross-referenced by diagnosis for easy access and quick review.
The resident is also instructed in proper autopsy techniques for removal of brains and spinal cord, and how to select appropriate sections for microscopic examination.
The resident actively participates in the preparation and diagnosis of tissue by frozen section.
The Neuropathology Laboratory offers two special services: diagnosis of peripheral nerve biopsy and muscle biopsy. The rotating resident participates in activities related to these sub-specialty fields.
The laboratory staff is comprised of two board certified neuropathologists who provide diagnostic and consultative service and teaching duties in monthly rotations.
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