The field of science known as pathology is very diverse and focuses on the study of diseases. In this field there are a variety of careers and a number of different routes of training people can take. A pathologist may work in a lab analysing outbreaks of diseases and studying their consequences or they may work in a hospital running tests on blood samples of patients.

As one of the oldest medical disciplines, pathology dates back as far as the 8th century in the Islamic golden age when doctors began to apply a degree of scientific information in the diagnosis of their patients by making links between the causes and results of diseases. One of the oldest pathological methods was identifying diabetes by actually tasting a patient’s urine.

Physicians will usually use pathologists as consultants, they may not directly interact with the patient but they will be asked to examine things like biopsies and blood samples. They may help diagnose the disease and often recommend treatments. They may not ever meet the patient but they will act as an important part of their medical team. » Read more: What Exactly Is Pathology?