Pulmonary pathology is the subspecialty of
surgical pathology which deals with the
diagnosis and characterization of
neoplastic and non-neoplastic
diseases of the
lung
The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of t ...
s and
thoracic pleura. Diagnostic specimens are often obtained via
bronchoscopic
Bronchoscopy is an endoscopy, endoscopic medical procedure, technique of visualizing the inside of the airways for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. An instrument (bronchoscope) is inserted into the airways, usually through the nose or mouth, o ...
transbronchial
biopsy,
CT-guided percutaneous biopsy, or
video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). The diagnosis of
inflammatory or
fibrotic diseases of the lungs is considered by many
pathologists to be particularly challenging.
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Anatomical pathology