Pathology in the Soviet Union

Five pathologists from the United States visited the Soviet Union for three weeks in April 1978 to learn of the training in and the practice of pathology in that country. The major observations of the Americans were that (1) pathology is a medical specialty in the Soviet Union, with practice limited to anatomic pathology; (2) exfoliative cytology and clinical pathology are not part of pathology; (3) interest, both clinical and experimental, in occupational, environmental, and geographic pathology is conspicuous; (4) an autopsy rate of 90% to 95% is customary; and (5) there is an organized and hierarchical framework for practice, with career patterns established early and change infrequent.