Career Objective

The Histotechnolgist (also known as Histology Technician, Histologic Tech, HT, HTL, Medical Technologist, Medical Lab Tech, etc) is the link between the surgeon or medical staff who obtains tissue from a patient which is to be analyzed, and the pathologist who interprets the diagnosis of the patient. The tissue may come from a living or post-mortem patient and may be the size of a fingernail clipping to the size of a small child (i.e. some samples of overgrown cysts are very large).

It is important to know the difference between a Histotechnician and a Histotechnologist (generally technician vs. technologist). A technologist (Histotechnologist) holds a Bachelor of Science degree in addition to certification by formal training. The technician-level scientist may hold only hold an associate's degree or have received training by an informal process such as on-the-job training. Most importantly, a technologist is certified by the American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP). This is the highest level of certification for a medical lab scientist, including histotechnologists.

These professionals provide the scientific processing of tissue which makes it possible for a pathologist to see the presence or absence of disease or other clinical dysfunction.