Cytology
Diagnostic Cytology offers a service that looks at cells suspended in fluids removed from patients or extracted from whole organs under suction. By looking at the way that the cells are arranged and their appearance, it is possible to determine if a patient has cancer, inflammation or evidence of crystals.
Histopathology
Histopathology offers a diagnostic service that looks at cells of the body from within tissue samples. By looking at the way that the cells are arranged, how they have developed and how they are functioning, it is possible to determine if a patient has a disease, inflammation, a cancer or a non-cancerous growth.
Incredibly thin shavings are taken from tissue samples which are placed on glass slides and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. Diagnosis from a single stained tissue section can be sufficient, but often this is supplemented by additional special stains and/or immunocytochemistry, as deemed appropriate by the reporting pathologist.