Introduction to Pathology

The complexity of management of bone and soft tissue tumors demands an organized, structured approach involving many medical specialties. Since patient’s first consult, clinical information, laboratory studies, and images should be discussed in a multidisciplinary team meeting. In some patients, no further diagnostic procedures may be needed to define management, but in others, a biopsy should be indicated. A pathologist will then examine the retrieved specimen and interpret the findings in the clinical and imaging context with the aim of making diagnosis. In this chapter, we review the role of the pathologist in a sarcoma multidisciplinary team, briefly describe the workflow in a pathology lab, and summarize the clinically useful items of information that should emerge from an appropriate pathological evaluation.