The Division of Anatomic Pathology, encompassing 25 primary and 9 secondary faculty, along with the divisions of Hematopathology, Neuropathology and Renal Pathology, provides subspecialized anatomic pathology services in breast pathology, gynecologic pathology, genitourinary pathology, pulmonary/thoracic pathology, head and neck pathology, endocrine pathology, cardiac pathology, bone and soft tissue pathology, gastrointestinal/liver/pancreas pathology, pediatric pathology, hematopathology, neuropathology, renal pathology, cytopathology and autopsy pathology. The anatomic pathology labs include state of the art immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy facilities.
For outside institutions, information on how to send in cases for second opinion can be found below while setting up diagnostic anatomic pathology consultations can be obtained from Vanderbilt Medical Laboratories (VML).
The primary areas of focus for the division are:
- Provision of state of the art diagnostic anatomic pathology services for Vanderbilt patients.
- Resident training in all aspects of anatomic pathology.
- Provision of state of the art consultation services in anatomic pathology for other institutions through VPLS.
- Clinicopathologic and translational tissue based research.
- Fellowship training in diagnostic surgical pathology, cytopathology and gastrointestinal/liver pathology.
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Please include with the case the attached consultation request form and a letter describing the clinical setting and any relevant laboratory data. It is helpful to know who is requesting the consultation, the pathologist, clinician, or patient. Please also include a telephone number and FAX number for the requesting party. We offer direct patient billing when appropriate, or if you prefer, we can bill clients directly. For patient billing, please include patient name, address, telephone number, date of birth, social security number, insurance plan.
Samples for diagnoses may be sent by express delivery service or regular mail. We request that the glass tissue slides be sent along with any available duplicate slides. Completed or pending surgical pathology reports (including gross description) are required. A paraffin tissue block is not necessary for most cases, but for cases with particularly difficult differential diagnoses, please include a paraffin tissue block.
In almost all cases, we return diagnoses by telephone call and/or fax within two days of receipt. Written reports will be faxed within one day of finalizing the case. Results can also be viewed through the Vanderbilt Pathology Laboratory Services (VPLS) website (LabVU) after an initial installment and authorization of software delivery. Slides are returned by express delivery service. We usually retain duplicate or selected glass slides, documenting in the report which slides are retained. We therefore share the responsibility of archiving patient records with the initial laboratory. This is especially important if the patient comes to Vanderbilt for second opinion or treatment. If these retained slides are needed at a later date, they are immediately available.
Cases may be directed to an individual pathologist, or the attending pathologist for the particular week will be responsible for diagnosing the case, or referring it to the appropriate Vanderbilt pathologist.
Pathology Consultation Request Form
For all consult cases, send to:
Vanderbilt Medical Laboratories
ATTN: PATHOLOGY CONSULT SERVICE
445 Great Circle Road
Nashville, TN 37228
