Telepathology: An update on applications, latest advances, and current status in Indian scenario.

Pathologists have been using their tool of trade, "the microscope," since the early 17 century, but now diagnostic pathology or tissue-based diagnosis is characterized by its high specificity and sensitivity. Technological telecommunication advances have revolutionized the face of medicine, and in pursuit of better health-care delivery, telepathology has emerged. Telepathology is the practice of diagnostic pathology performed at a distance, with images viewed on a video monitor rather than directly through the (light) microscope.