Summary
A retired pathologist believes pathologists should be more involved in gross examination of specimens, not just microscopic analysis. A pathologist praises the Canadian series “Coroner” for its realistic portrayal of the forensic pathology world, crediting the involvement of a real forensic pathologist as a consultant.
Grossing technician
January 2024—I am a retired pathologist (AP and CP) who enjoys keeping up with the profession and reading CAP TODAY. The advances in the past 20 years since I retired are amazing. In some respects, however, I think things have gone too far. It seems to me the pathologist needs to be involved more at the grossing table and not only at the microscope. Just as taking a correct blood sample from the right patient is essential for a correct outcome, so too is gross examination of the specimen and taking the correct tissue samples. I am not talking about tiny biopsies but whole or parts of organs. Examining the gross specimen ensures the important and crucial areas are sampled and coordinates the gross with the microscopic images. Would signing out an autopsy after only examining microscopic slides be adequate? That is why I think the concept of a grossing technician is going too far (“AAPA’s recommended definitions for pathologists’ assistants and grossing technicians,” Letters, September 2025).
Arthur H. Mensch, MD
West River, Md.
Misportrayal of the lab
I read with great interest and amusement the commentary “On TV and in film, the misportrayal of the lab” (November 2025, page 12), by Angela Robinson, MS, MLS(ASCP)CM, and Alan H. B. Wu, PhD. I am often bewildered by the inaccuracies portrayed in series and films with respect to medicine in general and the laboratory specifically. I wanted to add Coroner to the list of series that model a more realistic portrayal of the laboratory. Coroner is a Canadian series in which a forensic pathologist, John Fernandes, MD, was involved as a consultant for the production. Dr. Fernandes was the well-loved director of the Hamilton Regional Forensic Unit in Hamilton, Ontario, in real life. Following his death from cancer in 2019, an episode in the second season, “The Flipside” (2020), was dedicated to his memory, and a fictitious TV show within that episode was named “Fernandes” as an homage to him. This series (on Hulu and other platforms in the U.S.) does try to illustrate the forensic pathology world in a more realistic way, albeit more dramatic and exciting than normal. It is meant to be entertainment after all.
Jennifer Walsh, MD
Pathologist
Halton Healthcare Services
Oakville, Ontario
Send letters to editor to [email protected].