Pathohistology

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. the microscopic study of diseased tissue structure and cellular pathology
2. the examination of tissue samples under a microscope to identify disease and abnormal cellular patterns
3. histological analysis of pathological specimens to diagnose illness through observation of tissue composition and morphology

Etymology: "Pathohistology" is a plain compound: the prefix "patho-", from Greek "pathos" meaning suffering, disease, or experience, joined to "histology," the study of tissue structure. Histology itself is built from Greek "histos," meaning web or tissue, and "-logia," the study of something. Combining them yields a name for the examination of diseased tissue under the microscope, the point where the study of tissue meets the study of illness. The "patho-" element does most of the work here. In Greek, "pathos" originally meant something that happens to a person, whether suffering, a misfortune, or an emotion, and English later drew on it for words about disease, such as "pathology," the study of disease itself. Attaching it to "histology" narrows the field from disease in general to disease as it shows up in tissue.