Assessment of care supply in terms of medical labor force is difficult beca
use of the disparity of available darn. Using the medical specialty of path
ology as an example. we present for the first time a demographic analysis b
ased on the confrontation of main data sources. This study underlines some
of the structural and dynamic problems which threaten the demographic stabi
lity of the specialty. The public service suffers from a lack of practition
ers, especially in regionalhospitals. Whereas one third of French pathologi
sts work in the larger hospitals around Paris. in some other regions privat
e services constitute the main component of the supply. Projections based o
n the aging phenomenon and a reduction in entry indicate a future problem i
n the renewal of generations of pathologists. The consequences of this prog
rammed decrease in the number of French pathologists will be further exacer
bated by the movement of the sex ratio in favor of women.