[The future of clinical pathology]

Predictions of the future of pathology must encompass not only anticipation of scientific advances, but the important relationships with other physicians, scientists, health care agencies, hospitals, the public, and the government. The last fifty years have seen advances dwarfing all medical science throughout previous time, with sweeping changes in laboratory medicine in more recent years. For example, advent of molecular pathology will generate opportunities for the pathologist to lead not only in diagnosis, but to accurately predict and prevent disease, and to participate in treatment. Genetic engineering, which promises revolutionary improvement in medicine with already exciting advances in heritable disease. Immune status abnormalities, organ transplantation, and even mental disease, offers great opportunities for clinical pathologists. Currently there is much variation in definition and practice of anatomic and clinical pathology throughout the world. Scientific advances will merge the roles of these two branches more closely. The American Board of Pathology already foresees changing the current separate certifications in anatomic and clinical pathology into one certification in pathology. Multiple subcertifications will be offered to meet the certain increase in applicable clinical science in many related disciplines. The pathologist expert in a new field will assume a more activist role in clinical medicine and will be positioned to become the "information specialist" who will be required, with the aid of computerization, to assemble, correlate, and apply this burgeoning medical knowledge, which in many cases will transcend the abilities of any one medical specialist or allied scientist. The public become insatiable for knowledge and then access to this new medical science.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)