Pathology and screening
Pathology report explainer
A pathology report records what a pathologist saw when tissue or cells were examined, in a fixed set of sections and a very precise vocabulary. Add your report below to see each section restated in plain language, with the terms defined.
Explain your pathology report
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- 2. Check itPersonal details are removed on your device. You approve what is sent.
- 3. Read itSummary, table of results, terms and questions to ask.
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What you get
- Each section of the report identified and restated.
- The diagnosis line quoted and then put into ordinary words.
- Terms such as benign, margins, grade and atypia defined.
- Questions to ask the doctor who will go through the result with you.
Sections of a pathology report
- SpecimenWhat tissue was taken, from where and by what procedure
- Clinical informationWhat the requesting doctor told the laboratory
- Gross descriptionWhat the tissue looked like to the naked eye, with measurements
- Microscopic descriptionWhat was seen under the microscope
- Diagnosis or final diagnosisThe pathologist's conclusion
- Comment or addendumExtra notes, or results of further tests added later
What this tool cannot tell you
Unlike most reports, a pathology report often does contain a diagnosis, made by the pathologist. MedicDecode restates what the report says and adds nothing to it. It cannot tell you what the result means for your treatment or outlook. These results are best heard from your own doctor, who can answer the questions that follow.
Common questions
What is the difference between benign and malignant?
Benign means not cancer. Malignant means cancer. Reports sometimes use other words in between, such as atypical, which the explanation defines when they appear.
What are margins?
The edges of the tissue that was removed. A report says whether the abnormal area reached those edges, using words such as clear, negative, involved or positive.
Why is there a gross description if the diagnosis comes from the microscope?
It records the size, colour and appearance of the specimen before it was processed, which helps confirm what was received and where samples were taken from.
Words you may see on this report
Tap a word for its plain-English meaning, an example line and what it does not mean.
- Grade and stage
Grade describes how abnormal cancer cells look under a microscope. Stage describes how large a cancer is and how far it has spread.
- Atypical
Atypical means cells look different from normal under the microscope, but not clearly enough to be called cancer.
- Benign
Benign means not cancer. A benign growth does not spread to other parts of the body.
- Biopsy
A biopsy is a procedure to take a small sample of tissue so it can be looked at under a microscope.
- Carcinoma in situ
Carcinoma in situ means abnormal cells that look like cancer are found, but they have not grown beyond the layer where they started.
- Cytology
Cytology is the study of individual cells, usually from fluid, a smear or a fine needle sample, looked at under a microscope.
- Dysplasia
Dysplasia means cells look abnormal under the microscope in a way that is not cancer, but in some tissues may lead toward cancer if left alone.
- Malignant
Malignant means cancerous. A malignant growth can grow into nearby tissue and may spread to other parts of the body.
- Margins
Margins are the edges of tissue removed in surgery. The pathologist checks whether abnormal cells reach those edges.
- Metastasis
Metastasis means cancer cells have spread from where they started to another part of the body. The plural is metastases.
- Necrosis
Necrosis means death of body tissue or cells in a particular area, caused by injury, infection, lack of blood supply or certain substances.