APPLICATIONS OF SPECIAL DIAGNOSTIC-TECHNIQUES IN THE EVALUATION OF ENTERIC PATHOGENS IN SURGICAL PATHOLOGY

In this review the laboratory diagnosis of small and large intestinal parasitic and viral infections is considered in the context of both th e morphologic and extra-morphologic techniques that can be applied to tissue samples in surgical pathology. Light microscopy and electron mi croscopy serve as the standards for morphologic interpretation, but hi stochemical and immunohistochemical methods are of increasing importan ce in the characterization of diagnostically relevant cell products. N ucleic acid-based molecular techniques are now readily available to th e surgical pathology laboratory, and the relevance of these assays to the specific diagnosis and classification of enteric pathogens is beco ming more apparent. In this respect, intestinal infection represents a useful model for standard morphologic, histochemical, and molecular t echniques in other diagnostic settings.