Pathology and Pathological Disorders

Molecular Pathology in Infectious Diseases

Conventionally, the clinical medicinal microbiology laboratories have functioned to detect the etiologic causes of infectious diseases performing the direct analysis and culture of experimental specimens. Direct examination is restricted by the quantity of microorganisms available and by the capability of the laboratories to effectively distinguish the pathogen. Over the past several years, the improvement and application of molecular diagnostic tools has originated a revolution in the diagnostic measures and monitoring of infectious diseases. The extensive sensitivity and diversity of many molecular technologies permit the precise detection of very small numbers of microorganisms. Microbial phenotypic characteristics, such as protein, bacteriophage, and chromatographic profiles, as well as biotyping and susceptibility testing, are used in most routine laboratories for identification and differentiation.