Laboratory medicine is generally divided into two sections, each of which being subdivided into multiple units. These two sections are
Anatomic pathology: units included here are histopathology, cytopathology, and electron microscopy. Academically, each unit is studied alone in one course. Other courses pertaining to this section include anatomy, physiology, histology, pathology, and pathophysiology.
Clinical pathology, which includes:
Clinical Microbiology: This encompasses five different sciences (units). These include bacteriology, virology, parasitology, immunology, and mycology.
Clinical Chemistry: Units under this busy section include instrumental analysis of blood components, enzymology, toxicology and endocrinology.
Hematology: This section consists of automated and manual analysis of blood cells. It includes two subunits, which are coagulation and blood bank.
Genetics is also studied along with a subspecialty known as cytogenetics.
Reproductive biology: Semen analysis, Sperm bank and assisted reproductive technology.
Distribution of clinical laboratories in health institutions varies greatly from one place to another. For instance, for microbiology, some health facilities have a single laboratory for microbiology, while others have a separate lab for each unit, with nothing called a “microbiology” lab.