Introduction to Biopsy Interpretation and Surgical Pathology

This book is primarily addressed to the needs of the trainee histopathologist. It is intended to bridge that gap between the descriptive histopathology taught as part of the undergraduate medical curriculum and the interpretative skills required of the diagnostician. My object is to convey the basic general principles, in theory and practice. Books are, however, only adjuncts to practical experience and not substitutes for it. Indeed, to obtain the maximum benefit from this book it is essential that the reader is actively involved in the work of a diagnostic laboratory. Only in this way can the trainee become thoroughly conversant with the rudiments of biopsy interpretation. To retain detailed knowledge of the histological appearances of the plethora of diseases and their permutations to which humans are subject is beyond the mental resources of most individuals. For this reason, histopathologists probably refer to books more often than do most other specialists. This book aims to provide a core of knowledge sufficient to master the fundamental aspects, while still encouraging the intelligent use of all those indispensable atlases, monographs, and fascicles for which there is no substitute.