Pathology

I. Discipline Positioning and Overall Overview The Department of Pathology of Zhongshan Hospital Affiliated to Xiamen University is a Xiamen Municipal planned key specialty and the core pathological diagnosis, treatment and research center of southwestern Fujian, integrating clinical pathological diagnosis, high-level medical teaching, cutting-edge scientific research translation and regional quality control leadership. Relying on the platform of a Grade A tertiary hospital and the university resources of Xiamen University, the department is based in Xiamen and radiates across southern Fujian (Minnan) and southwestern Fujian, undertaking the core functions of regional difficult pathological diagnosis, medical talent cultivation, pathological technology innovation and public health assurance. Its comprehensive service volume, technical standardization and teaching and research strength rank at the region's advanced level, making it a key core department supporting regional clinical precision diagnosis and treatment and medical education development. (1) Historical Development of the Discipline Growing steadily and upgrading iteratively along with the overall development of the hospital, the department has, through decades of accumulation, gradually grown from a basic pathological diagnosis unit into a large-scale, standardized and precision-oriented regional key pathology specialty. In its early years, the department centered on routine histopathological diagnosis, consolidated basic pathological diagnosis and treatment, established a basic standardized pathological diagnosis system, and met the pathological support needs of routine clinical care within the hospital. With the development of modern precision medicine, the department has continuously expanded its business boundaries, improved its disciplinary structure, and upgraded hardware equipment and technical systems, successively adding core services such as cytological diagnosis, immunohistochemical testing, molecular pathological testing and intraoperative rapid frozen-section diagnosis, remedying shortcomings in precision pathological care. At the same time it has steadily advanced the construction of the teaching system and research platforms, evolving from a single clinical diagnosis department into a comprehensive key pathology specialty integrating clinical care, teaching, research, quality control and talent cultivation ("five-in-one"). Leveraging its solid disciplinary foundation and regional service capability, the department was successfully recognized as a Xiamen Municipal planned key specialty, continuously undertaking core work such as difficult pathology consultation, technology promotion, talent cultivation and industry quality control in southwestern Fujian, and gradually establishing its core leading position in regional pathology. (2) Comprehensive Subspecialty System Based on the development trend of precision pathology and regional clinical needs, the department has established five distinctive subspecialty systems with clear division of labor, comprehensive coverage and coordinated development, achieving precise pathological diagnosis of all disease types across the entire process, fully matching clinical precision treatment needs; each subspecialty has mature technology, distinctive features and outstanding advantages. 1. Routine Histopathology Subspecialty As the basic core subspecialty of the department, it comprehensively performs routine histopathological diagnosis of benign and malignant tumors, inflammatory diseases, hyperplastic lesions, degenerative lesions, etc., in all systems and organs of the body, precisely determining the nature, typing and grading of lesions, and providing core pathological evidence for clinical surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, and targeted therapy. The department's annual volume of external surgical pathology examinations is stable at 50,000–60,000 cases, its service volume firmly ranks among the top in southwestern Fujian, and its diagnostic accuracy and report standardization strictly meet national quality control standards. 2. Intraoperative Rapid Frozen-Section Pathology Subspecialty Focusing on intraoperative emergency pathology assessment, it provides real-time diagnostic evidence for surgical operations, precisely judging tumor benignity/malignancy, surgical margin status and lymph node metastasis, helping surgeons quickly formulate and adjust surgical plans, and maximally ensuring surgical precision and safety. The department performs more than 5,000 intraoperative rapid frozen-section examinations annually, with efficient response and precise diagnosis, fully meeting the intraoperative pathology support needs of all types of surgery across the hospital. It routinely performs aspiration cytology and exfoliative cytology examinations, covering multi-site cytological screening including thyroid, breast, lung, lymph nodes, and pleural and peritoneal effusions, with non-invasive, efficient and precise screening advantages, and is a core technical means of early tumor screening and initial lesion screening. The department's annual cytology volume exceeds 30,000 cases; relying on high-end equipment such as the Xinbaishi liquid-based imaging system, the detection rate of cytological lesions and diagnostic precision have been greatly improved. 4. Immunopathology Subspecialty Relying on mature immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence technologies, it performs typing diagnosis, differential diagnosis, tumor target detection and prognosis assessment of various difficult lesions, precisely resolving the diagnosis of difficult cases that routine pathology struggles to distinguish, and providing key support for precise tumor typing, targeted medication and prognosis judgment. The department completes 100,000 histochemical and immunohistochemical tests annually, with testing throughput and precision leading the region. 5. Molecular Pathology Subspecialty Focusing on the frontiers of precision medicine, the department has built a standardized molecular pathology laboratory and carries out core projects such as tumor gene testing, gene mutation analysis and therapeutic target screening, matching the clinical needs of precise targeted therapy, immunotherapy and prognosis assessment of tumors. The department's annual gene testing volume reaches 20,000 tests; relying on high-end equipment such as tumor DNA ploidy analysis and fully automated nucleic acid purification and fluorescent PCR analysis systems, molecular pathology testing has achieved standardization, normalization and precision. In addition, the department independently conducts difficult pathology consultations, judicial appraisal, medical appraisal and autopsy work; its consultation scope fully covers southern Fujian and surrounding areas, it undertakes a large number of difficult cases referred from other hospitals, and it is the core fallback platform for difficult pathological diagnosis in the region. (3) Authoritative Third-Party Endorsement and Industry Recognition As a Xiamen Municipal planned key specialty and the core center of pathology medical care, teaching and research in southwestern Fujian, the department's discipline construction, diagnosis and treatment quality, technical standardization, teaching and research, and quality control management have received comprehensive recognition from national, provincial and municipal authorities at multiple levels and authoritative industry bodies, with solid third-party endorsement and outstanding industry credibility. 1. Authoritative Official Quality Control Certification The department strictly follows national and Fujian Province pathological quality control standards in its work, implementing whole-process quality control management of pathological diagnosis covering specimen processing, slide preparation, staining interpretation, report issuance, molecular testing and all other steps, achieving compliance with the dual quality control of the state and Fujian Province; its diagnostic standardization, result reliability and process standardization have been authoritatively certified officially, making it a benchmark department for standardized regional pathology quality control. 2. National and Provincial Academic Society Positions Many members of the department's core team hold authoritative national and provincial academic positions, with prominent industry discourse power and academic leadership: they hold national academic positions such as committee member of the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, committee member of the Immunohistochemistry Quality Control Group of the National Health Commission Pathology Quality Control Evaluation Center, committee member of the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Geriatrics Society, committee member of the Thoracic Disease Group of the Pathology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, and committee member of the Digestive Group of the China Anti-Cancer Association, as well as core provincial positions such as vice chairman of the Fujian Anti-Cancer Association and standing committee member and committee member of the Fujian Pathology Branch, deeply participating in the formulation of national and provincial pathology industry standards, academic seminars and technology promotion; their academic influence covers the whole province and aligns with the national level. 3. Regional Industry Leadership and Official Teaching Recognition The department is a core teaching base of the Medical College of Xiamen University, undertaking the teaching of multiple core pathology courses, and is the core cultivation base of pathology talents in southern Fujian; it regularly hosts national and provincial continuing education projects, promotes cutting-edge pathological technologies and standardized diagnostic concepts across the province, and continuously drives the overall improvement of regional pathological diagnosis. At the same time, as the regional difficult pathology consultation center, it has long accepted difficult case referrals and consultations from other hospitals in southern Fujian and surrounding areas, is the core fallback platform for regional pathological care quality, and has won high recognition from medical institutions at all levels and industry peers. 4. Authoritative Evidence of Research Achievements and Awards The department is deeply engaged in research innovation in tumor pathology and molecular pathology, has presided over more than 20 provincial and municipal research projects with nearly 10 ongoing projects, has won a provincial Science and Technology Progress Award, and has published more than 150 high-level papers (including more than 25 SCI-indexed papers), and owns 9 core research achievements; its research innovation capability and clinical translation strength have been authoritatively recognized by provincial and municipal research authorities and industry bodies. II. Core Clinical Service Capability Relying on its comprehensive subspecialty system and high-end hardware configuration, the department has built a full-chain pathology service system of "routine diagnosis + intraoperative emergency + precision molecular testing + difficult consultation + judicial appraisal", with comprehensive business coverage, huge service volume and precise, efficient technology, fully supporting clinical precision diagnosis and treatment across the hospital and the region. Core business data firmly rank among the top in southwestern Fujian: annual external surgical pathology volume of 50,000–60,000 cases, more than 5,000 intraoperative rapid frozen-section examinations, more than 30,000 cytology examinations, 100,000 histochemical and immunohistochemical tests, and 20,000 gene tests. At the same time, it regularly undertakes difficult pathology consultations from other hospitals in southern Fujian, independently conducts judicial appraisal, medical appraisal and autopsy work, and fully meets diverse needs including clinical care, public health and medical dispute appraisal. III. Clinical Teaching and Talent Cultivation As the core pathology teaching base of the Medical College of Xiamen University, the department is deeply engaged in medical education and talent cultivation, has formed a systematic, standardized and high-quality teaching and training system, and continuously delivers high-quality pathology professionals to the region. Teaching covers all levels including undergraduates, postgraduates, standardized residency training and advanced studies; the department undertakes the teaching of multiple core courses at the Medical College of Xiamen University, such as "Pathology", "Diagnostic Pathology", "Oral Pathology", "Application of Molecular Pathology Techniques in Scientific Research", "Advanced Anatomy and Pathology" and "Frontiers of Pathology". Talent cultivation is fruitful: it has cumulatively trained more than 20 postgraduate students at Xiamen University and Fujian Medical University, and 44 standardized training trainees and advanced-study physicians; the pass rate of Fujian Province standardized training examinations is 100%, and its talent cultivation quality firmly ranks among the top in the region. At the same time, the department regularly hosts national and provincial continuing education projects, builds a regional pathology academic exchange and technology improvement platform, and continuously promotes the standardized and high-quality development of pathology in southwestern Fujian. IV. Talent Team and Hardware Configuration (1) High-Quality Talent Team The department currently has a professional team of 40 people with a reasonable talent structure, complete levels and comprehensive professional coverage, forming a high-quality talent echelon of "high-end leadership, backbone support, and youth reserve". Among them, there are 2 professors/associate professors and 2 master's supervisors; 3 doctoral degree holders and 20 master's degree holders, with a high proportion of highly educated talents and solid professional competence. Core team members are deeply engaged in each pathology subspecialty; many hold core positions in national and provincial industry societies, with broad academic vision and rich clinical experience, providing core talent support for the high-quality development of the discipline. (2) High-End Hardware Configuration The department has built a standardized, modern pathological experiment and diagnosis platform, with a molecular pathology laboratory and a cell culture room under it, equipped with high-end equipment for the whole process, realizing automation, precision and standardization of the entire pathological testing process. Core equipment includes: cell culture equipment such as CO2 incubators and biosafety cabinets; routine pathology equipment such as the Xinbaishi liquid-based imaging system, fully automated staining and mounting workstation, imported Leica and Shandon microtomes, fully automated dehydration/staining/embedding systems, and constant-temperature cryostats; precision testing and research equipment such as fully automated nucleic acid purification and fluorescent PCR analysis systems, tumor DNA ploidy analysis, pathological image analysis systems, digital pathological tissue specimen storage and management systems, and Nikon fluorescence/inverted microscopes, fully meeting diverse needs of clinical diagnosis, teaching practice and research translation. V. Research Innovation and Quality Control Management (1) Core Research Directions and Research Achievements Focusing on essential clinical needs and disciplinary frontiers, the department has established two core research directions: tumor pathological diagnosis and molecular pathology, deeply engaged in clinical research and technology translation. It has cumulatively presided over more than 20 provincial and municipal research projects, with nearly 10 ongoing; has won a provincial Science and Technology Progress Award; in the past five years it has published more than 150 papers of various types, including more than 25 SCI-indexed papers and 12 translated abstracts, and owns 9 research achievements, continuously empowering the upgrading of clinical precision diagnosis and treatment through research innovation. (2) Core Technology and Quality Control System The department's core technology advantages are prominent; it proficiently performs cutting-edge precision pathology technologies such as immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, thin-layer liquid-based cytology and molecular pathology, covering the full scenarios of early tumor screening, precise typing, targeted testing and prognosis assessment. At the same time, it has established a rigorous whole-process quality control management system, strictly implementing quality control in all steps of specimen reception, processing, slide preparation, diagnosis and report review, achieving compliance with the dual quality control of the state and Fujian Province, and ensuring the precision, standardization and authority of every pathological report. VI. Social Contribution of the Discipline As a Xiamen Municipal planned key specialty and the core center of pathology medical care, teaching and research in southwestern Fujian, the department has always been rooted in public welfare and serves regional development. On the one hand, it has long undertaken the cultivation of high-level medical talents, delivering a large number of outstanding pathology professionals to medical institutions in Xiamen and southern Fujian, consolidating the talent foundation of the regional pathology discipline; on the other hand, through technology promotion, academic exchange, difficult case consultation and quality control supervision, it continuously improves the overall standardization level and precision diagnosis capability of pathology in southwestern Fujian, boosting the development of regional precision medicine, fully guaranteeing the core needs of regional public health and clinical care, and providing solid support for the high-quality development of regional healthcare.