Skip to content

Studies & Degrees in Morbid Anatomy

Morbid anatomy is the older name for what is now usually called anatomical pathology or histopathology: the study and diagnosis of disease by examining organs, tissues and cells. The name survives in some university departments. Trinity College Dublin has a Discipline of Histopathology and Morbid Anatomy, and Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) in Nigeria has a Department of Morbid Anatomy and Forensic Medicine.

The Royal College of Pathologists (RCPath) in the United Kingdom defines histopathology as the diagnosis and study of diseases of the tissues, which involves examining tissues and cells under a microscope. Spain's official training programme for the specialty of Anatomía Patológica describes it as the branch of medicine that studies the causes, development and consequences of disease through biological samples. Its main aim is the correct diagnosis of autopsies, biopsies, surgical specimens and cytology samples.

What students learn

Morbid anatomy is not normally a first degree. Medical students meet it as a subject within the medical degree, and doctors can then choose it as a specialty. Training covers:

  • dissection and sampling of surgical specimens
  • microscopic diagnosis of biopsies, including the diagnosis, grading and staging of cancer
  • cytopathology: cells in smears, aspirates and body fluids
  • autopsy (post-mortem examination)
  • molecular techniques such as FISH and PCR, and digital pathology

According to RCPath, around 20 million histopathology slides are examined in the UK each year, and histopathology is the largest specialty in pathology. Histopathologists spend most of their time in the laboratory and at the microscope. They present their findings to surgeons, oncologists and nurses at multidisciplinary team meetings, where treatment is planned.

Qualifications and levels

  • Medical specialty in Spain. Anatomía Patológica is an official medical specialty. The programme published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (Orden SCO/3107/2006) sets a duration of 4 years and requires a prior degree in Medicine. Training takes place in a hospital department as a resident.
  • Medical specialty in the UK. After medical school and the two-year foundation programme, specialty training in histopathology takes five years, according to NHS Health Careers. After two years of integrated cellular pathology training, trainees either continue in histopathology or apply for diagnostic neuropathology, forensic histopathology or paediatric and perinatal pathology.
  • Ireland. Trinity College Dublin states that its discipline is accredited by RCPath for training in histopathology, which is provided across three hospital sites in Dublin.
  • United States. Pathologists are certified by the American Board of Pathology. The board describes subspecialists such as surgical pathologists, who analyse biopsies and excised tissue, cytopathologists and forensic pathologists.
  • Vocational training in Spain. Laboratory staff who are not doctors can train as Técnico Superior en Anatomía Patológica y Citodiagnóstico, a higher vocational training (FP) qualification of 2,000 hours. The modules include necropsies, cytological and tissue processing, gynaecological cytology, and molecular biology and cytogenetics. Graduates work under the supervision of a medical specialist, for example as cytotechnicians or autopsy assistants.
  • Research degrees. University departments also supervise research in pathology. Trinity's discipline says it has a long tradition of training medical students, scientists and clinicians to PhD level and beyond.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 5 active schools for morbid anatomy, one each in Nigeria, Ireland, Ukraine, Mexico and Russia. Most are medical universities or universities with a medical faculty: the University of Dublin, Trinity College; Obafemi Awolowo University in Ile-Ife; Bukovinian State Medical University in Chernivtsi; and Rostov State Medical University in Rostov-on-Don. Bukovinian State Medical University states that it has trained more than 35,000 specialists since 1944, in fields that include medicine, dentistry and pharmacy.

Because the subject is taught inside a medical degree or as postgraduate specialty training, the practical question is usually where to study medicine and where to specialise. Specialty training is tied to each country's health system and working language, and doctors who qualified abroad need their degree recognised before they can enter it. Ask each school which pathology teaching or programme it currently offers and what recognition the qualification has.

Careers

Specialists work in hospital pathology departments, cancer screening programmes, forensic services, private laboratories, universities and research institutes. RCPath notes that histopathologists increasingly have key responsibilities for cancer screening, at present for breast, bowel and cervical cancer. Subspecialties include forensic pathology, neuropathology and paediatric pathology. Technicians work in the same laboratories and in research centres. No official employment figures specific to this specialty were found for this page.

Frequently asked questions

Is morbid anatomy the same as pathology?

Morbid anatomy is an older term for anatomical pathology, also called histopathology in the UK and Ireland. Pathology as a whole is wider and also includes laboratory specialties such as haematology, microbiology and chemical pathology.

Do I need a medical degree to work in this field?

To become a pathologist, yes: in Spain the 4-year specialty requires a prior degree in Medicine, and in the UK specialty training follows medical school and the foundation programme. In Spain, the 2,000-hour higher vocational qualification in Anatomía Patológica y Citodiagnóstico leads to technician posts without a medical degree.

How long does specialist training take?

In Spain the residency lasts 4 years after the medical degree. In the UK it is five years of specialty training after the two-year foundation programme.

Do pathologists perform autopsies?

Yes. Autopsy is part of the training programme in Spain and the UK, although most of the daily work is the diagnosis of biopsies and surgical specimens from living patients.