Pathology is the basis of clinical medicine and is also a very important subject in medical research.  Pathological diagnosis constitutes essential part of medical treatment.  Through the observation of morphology and based on the results of chemical, immunohistochemical, and molecular biological examinations, the pathologists provide appropriate pathological diagnosis as a framework for clinicians’ diagnosis and treatment.

 

 

In 1961, Professor Sung-san Ma was employed as the first director of the Department of Pathology at China Medical College. The support of pathology teaching by Professor Shu-wun Hou, Dr. Jun-hsuan Tung, Dr. Cheng-nan Hsu, Professor I-hsiung Lai, and others, and teaching materials given by the Department of Pathology of the College of Medicine at National Taiwan University paved the way for the development of pathology at China Medical University. At the end of 1980, China Medical College Hospital was opened, with Professor I-hsiung Lai, Dr. Yun-nan Lin, and Dr. Kun-tu Yeh supporting pathological diagnosis work. In 1983, Professor Kang-chu Chu served as the first director of the Pathology Division of China Medical College Hospital. At the initial stage, the division only provided traditional pathological diagnosis, including histopathological diagnosis, frozen sections, cryptologic diagnosis, and pathological anatomy. In 1996, Dr. Li-ping Chen took over as the director, during which he made great efforts to develop immunohistochemical staining and offered all-weather frozen section services. In 1998, the division was upgraded to the Department of Pathology as required by a medical center and began the computerization of pathological reporting work in the hospital. Professor Chih-jung Chen was the first director of the department, during which time he not only reconstructed the department’s teaching system, but also strengthened the joint discussion between the department and the clinical departments and divisions, and actively furthered the research projects jointly conducted by the department and clinical units.