22^nd Annual Pathology Congress

Soft tissue pathology

Soft tissue pathology is the subspecialty of surgical pathology which deals with the diagnosis and characterization of neoplastic and non-neoplastic diseases of the soft tissues, such as muscle, adipose tisssue, tendons, fascia, and connective tissues.  Soft Tissue Pathology is broadly defined to include metastatic melanomas, carcinomas, and lymphoid proliferations—in addition to all the tumors that “the flesh is heir to.” Soft tissue and bone tumors are a heterogeneous group of tumors most often classified according to the type of tissue they most closely histologically resemble. Soft tissue lesions strike fear in many pathologists as they are uncommon and may be difficult to diagnose. Malignant soft tissue lesions, i.e. cancerous soft tissue lesions, are usually sarcomas. Sarcomas are malignancies derived from mesenchymal tissue.