While you would probably never deal directly with pathology or laboratory as a patient, the staff in this area has dealt with you if you have ever had any kind of medical test done at MeritCare.
Common Procedures
The two departments analyze and work up every sample of tissue and bodily fluid taken. Pathology focuses on tissue and fluids, looking for malignancies and other abnormalities. The lab, among many other things, processes blood. The Microbiology lab tests tissue, blood and urine for infections.