The Department of Pathology is dedicated to excellence in pathology education, research, and diagnostic services. It offers integrated anatomic and clinical pathology teaching for medical students and supports training for residents, covering subspecialty disciplines such as surgical pathology, cytopathology, forensic and autopsy pathology. Through its academic courses, research initiatives, and specialized faculty expertise, the department plays a vital role in shaping future physicians and advancing pathology in the Philippines.
VISION
A team of physicians highly competent in the field of pathology; imbued with moral, ethical and spiritual vigor; dedicated to a life of learning and teaching; committed to the improvement of patient care through provision of outstanding pathology services; inspired by love, compassion and respect for the dignity of human life and the nobility of death; and anchored on the principles of truth, freedom, justice, love of country and the democratic way of life.
MISSION
Guided by moral, ethical and spiritual values, we commit ourselves to excellence and leadership in the practice and teaching of pathology, and research in the discipline, with special attention to provision of service for the underserved.
Pathology traces its origins in 1907 as one of the very first departments of the erstwhile Philippine Medical School, initially called the Department of Pathology and Bacteriology, servicing nearby hospitals of Old Manila. It found its physical home when the medical school building was built in 1910, the same year the Philippine General Hospital opened. Its first faculty of American physicians were gradually replaced in the late 1920s by Filipinos, the latter representing the first formally trained pathologists of the country. The second half of the 20th century saw the department’s faculty broadening its expertise as subspecialists were added to its roster after training abroad in fields like Gynecologic Pathology, Neuropathology, Bone Pathology, Renal Pathology, Hematopathology, Pediatric Pathology, Microbiology, Clinical Chemistry, Head and Neck Pathology, Cytopathology, and Forensic Pathology. To this day, the department continues the tradition of academic excellence as its faculty teaches medical students and pathology residents in training.
Medical School Subjects
Pathology learning sessions in the form of didactics, gross and microscopic laboratory classes are built into the Learning Unit 4 of the UP College of Medicine curriculum, beginning as one of the core subjects in the Biopsychosocial Dimension of Illness (BDI), followed by integration into the different Organ System (OS) modules throughout the two semesters. The department also offers various elective courses across all Learning Units to select medical students who express deeper interest in the discipline, e.g., Introduction to Laboratory Medicine, Forensic Pathology, and Clinical and Research Electives in Pathology.
Residency Training
The department is an intimate participant in the residency training program in Combined Anatomic and Clinical Pathology of the Philippine General Hospital with the faculty rendering subspecialty expertise to the anatomical, surgical, cytological, and clinical pathology services of the hospital, and providing a wealth of learning and training opportunities for the resident physicians of the PGH. Medical and forensic autopsy needs of the training program, the hospital, and the community are fulfilled by the Department.
Anatomic Pathology
- Autopsy
- Surgical Pathology
- Cytopathology
- Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy
Clinical Pathology
- Blood Bank
- Clinical Chemistry
- Clinical Microscopy
- Immunopathology
- Microbiology
| Position | Name |
| Chair | Jose M. Carnate, Jr., MD |
| Vice Chair for Academics | Paolo S. Macasaet, MD |
| Vice Chair for Research | Emilio Q. Villanueva III, MD |
| Vice Chair for Administration | Ma. Cecilia F. Lim, MD |
| Vice Chair for Services and Coordinator for Cytology Service | Dahlia Teresa R. Argamosa, MD |
| Coordinators for Flagship Projects | Michele H. Diwa, MD Eugene G. Odoño, MD |
| Coordinator for Autopsy Services | Raquel B. del Rosario-Fortun, MD |
| Coordinator for Infrastructure | Mark Angelo C. Ang, MD |
| Head, Digital Pathology Laboratory and Services | Christine Mae G. Olivar, MD |
| Department Treasurer | Michelle Anne M. Encinas-Latoy, MD |
| Faculty Staff | Karen B. Damian, M Edna May Lasap-Go, MD Karen Cybelle J. Sotalbo, MD Cecile C. Dungog, MD Edwin L. Muñoz, MD Sonia L. Chicano, MD |
FACILITIES AND SERVICES
Morgue and Autopsy
The fully equipped morgue offers both medical and forensic autopsy services. Bodies are accepted 24 hours while autopsies are done 8am to 5pm. The clinical mortalities at the Philippine General Hospital and other centers, along with medicolegal cases from far and wide that seek the expertise of the only two forensic pathologists in the country, have made the Department of Pathology Morgue the busiest and most capable of its kind in the delivery of autopsy services in the Philippines.
Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy Clinic
Patients with thyroid nodules, palpable lymph nodes, breast lumps, and other non-visceral masses may avail of the fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) procedure on Monday to Friday, 8am to 3pm, at the Pathology Research Laboratory, while cytopathological slide smears, whether cervicovaginal or from FNAB procedures, may be submitted 8am to 5 pm.
Fine Needle Aspiration Biopsy Clinic
The digital pathology laboratory offers image-capture and slide digitization support to medical students, researchers, and practicing pathologists, thus facilitating the conduct of conferences, research methodologies, and case consultations. Pathologists can collaborate with colleagues globally in real-time, facilitating expert opinions, research, and an interactive learning experience for medical students.
Pathology Research Laboratory
The Pathology Research Laboratory (PRL) provides histopathological and cytopathological processing services for clinical cytology and surgical specimens as well as autopsy material. These services are available to student and faculty researchers and pathology practitioners
RESEARCH
The wealth of clinical material from the Philippine General Hospital, Pathology Research Laboratory, and the autopsy service drive the consultant staff to engage in all manner of clinical and anatomic pathology research, the findings of which are presented at annual research fora hosted by the department and by the Research Implementation and Development Office (RIDO). These studies provide a stream of manuscripts that are published in scientific journals both local and international.
Department of Pathology
UP College of Medicine
Tel. No.: (+632) 8404-7808
Mobile No.: (+63) 918-985-1972 (ADMIN)
Mobile No.: (+63) 999-996-7911 (PRL)