A professional who studies human or animal tissue to provide data to delineate cause and progress of disease that impairs body function. Responsibilities include:

• Trains and oversees laboratory personnel in preparing tissue sections or prepares tissue sections from surgical and diagnostic cases and autopsies.
• Examines tissue under microscope to detect characteristics of cell structure indicative of disease and writes diagnostic reports.
• Devises and directs use of special stains and methods for isolating, identifying, and studying function, morphology, and pathology of obscure or difficult-to-identify cells, tissues, and connecting fibers.
• May conduct autopsies to select tissue specimens for study.
• May engage in research to develop techniques for diagnosing and identifying pathological conditions.
• May study anatomy of body tissues, formation of organs, and related problems to obtain data on body functions.