Pathology

The Department of Pathology of Xuanwu Hospital was established in 1958. Professor Xu Qingzhong, as a pioneer of the department, led everyone in making unremitting efforts under difficult conditions, laying a solid foundation for the department’s development. Over more than fifty years, through the diligent work of several generations, the Department of Pathology of Xuanwu Hospital gradually developed into a comprehensive pathology department integrating clinical pathological diagnosis, teaching, and research, and developed the distinctive feature of focusing on neuropathology while also taking into account the development of other subspecialties; it has made remarkable progress in all fields of medical care, education, and research. At present, the department has technical platforms for routine histology, histochemistry, immunohistochemistry, cytology, and molecular pathology, and is a training site for doctoral and master’s graduate students of Capital Medical University. All physicians have postgraduate qualifications (3 of them hold doctoral degrees); at present, the department has 3 chief physicians and 3 deputy chief physicians; to support the development of the discipline and improve the diagnostic level, in recent years the department has continuously sent pathologists to Canada, the United States, Japan, and other places for specialized further study, and has absorbed advanced foreign experience for use in daily clinical pathological diagnosis, greatly improving the level of pathological diagnosis.

The Department of Pathology of Xuanwu Hospital has long held a leading position nationwide in the field of neuropathological diagnosis, bringing hope to patients with difficult neuropathology cases. While vigorously developing neuropathology, the department also focuses on the development of other subspecialties, providing clinical patients with accurate pathological diagnoses and laying a foundation for further treatment after surgery. At present, our department has carried out molecular pathology testing, including testing for tumors such as nervous system tumors, non-small cell lung cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, papillary thyroid carcinoma, and lymphoma, providing a basis for precision diagnosis and precision treatment.

Every year, the Department of Pathology undertakes a large amount of undergraduate and graduate teaching for the Department of Pathology of Capital Medical University and has a solid theoretical foundation. At the same time, the department is also a Beijing base for standardized training of pathology residents and the institution serving as the chairing unit, and is responsible for the standardized-training assessment at two stages each year. In research, it has conducted various clinical pathological studies on brain tumors, the surgical pathology of intractable epilepsy, cerebrovascular diseases, neuromuscular diseases, prostate cancer, lung cancer, and other areas. The projects at various levels for which applications have been approved include the National Natural Science Foundation, the Beijing Key Discipline Cultivation Program, the Beijing Municipal Education Commission Science and Technology and Humanities Plan projects, the Capital Medical Development Research Fund, the Beijing Excellent Talent Training Program, the Beijing Science and Technology New Star Program, and the Beijing Capital Health Development Research Special Fund.

During the development of the discipline, the Department of Pathology has put people first, emphasized scientific development, and promoted the development of its physician echelon. Professor Lu Dehong, the academic leader and department director, has consistently maintained a focus on neuropathology as the discipline’s traditional strength and further expanded it. His current academic appointments include: President of the 2nd Asian Society of Neuropathology; Standing Committee Member and Secretary-General of the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and Head of the Brain Neuropathology Group of the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association; Head of the Neuropathology Group of the Chinese Society of Neuroscience; Deputy Chair of the Pathology Professional Committee of the Beijing Medical Association; Standing Committee Member of the Neuro-oncology Professional Committee of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association; Chair of the Expert Committee for the Standardized Training of Pathology Residents in Beijing; Member of the Expert Committee of the Beijing Pathology Quality Control Center; and other academic appointments. In addition, the department has a number of outstanding young and middle-aged pathologists who hold academic positions in academic organizations at various levels.