Surgical Pathology - Subspecialties

Subspecialties

Many pathologists seek fellowship-level training, or otherwise pursue expertise in a focused area of surgical pathology. Subspecialization is particularly prevalent in the academic setting, where pathologists may specialise in an area of diagnostic surgical pathology that is relevant to their research, but is becoming increasingly prevalent in private practice as well. Subspecialization has a number of benefits, such as allowing for increased experience and skill at interpreting challenging cases, as well as development of a closer working relationship between the pathologist and clinicians within a subspecialty area. Commonly recognized subspecialties of surgical pathology include the following:

• Bone pathology
• Cardiac pathology
• Cytopathology (A board-certifiable subspecialty in the U.S.)
• Dermatopathology (A board-certifiable subspecialty in the U.S.)
• Endocrine pathology
• Gastrointestinal pathology
• Genitourinary pathology
• Gynecologic pathology
• Head and Neck Pathology
• Hematopathology (A board-certifiable subspecialty in the U.S.)
• Neuropathology (A board-certifiable subspecialty in the U.S. and a recognised specialty in the U.K.)
• Ophthalmic pathology
• Pediatric pathology (A board-certifiable subspecialty in the U.S. and a recognised specialty in the U.K.)
• Pulmonary pathology
• Renal pathology
• Soft tissue pathology