Ocular Pathology

OCULAR PATHOLOGY SECTION 

Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences 

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi – 110029 

Officer-In-charge: Dr. Seema Kashyap, Professor 

About Ocular Pathology 

The Ocular Pathology Section at Dr. Rajendra Prasad Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi, provides comprehensive diagnostic, academic and research services in ocular pathology. The section provides diagnostic facilities in Histopathology, Cytopathology, Immunohistochemistry, Clinical Pathology and Molecular Pathology. 

The section performs more than80,000 investigations annually and is actively involved in teaching and training of undergraduate and postgraduate students, including B.Sc. Optometry and M.D. Ophthalmology students. 

The research programme encompasses ocular oncology, orbital and adnexal tumours, intraocular malignancies, ocular surface disorders, glaucoma and corneal pathologies. 

Diagnostic Services 

1. Histopathology, Frozen Section & Immunohistochemistry 

• Diagnostic histopathological examination of ocular specimens.

• Frozen section facilities for intraoperative evaluation and guided excision of ocular surface lesions.

• Immunohistochemistry (IHC) for diagnostic and prognostic evaluation.

• IHC is used for differential diagnosis of ocular tumours and identification of cancer biomarkers.

• IHC is also extensively utilized for research applications.

2. Cytopathology 

Impression Cytology 

• Diagnosis and evaluation of ocular surface disorders.

• Evaluation of dry eye and corneal and conjunctival pathologies.

• Assessment of conjunctival neoplasias and ulcerative eyelid lesions.

Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) 

• Preoperative diagnosis of palpable orbital and eyelid lesions.

• Evaluation of regional lymph nodes.

Vitreous and Aqueous Cytology 

• Cytological evaluation of intraocular pathologies.

• Cytospin-based evaluation for conditions including intraocular lymphoma, retinoblastoma and metastatic disease/endophthalmitis.

Clinical Pathology 

The Clinical Pathology facility supports patient-care services at Dr. R. P. Centre. 

• NABL accredited laboratory
  Accreditation received on 15 November 2025
  Certificate No.: MC-7758

• Hematological investigations using an automated Sysmex analyser.

• Hemogram and urine analysis as part of patient-care services.

Molecular Pathology Laboratory 

The Molecular Pathology Laboratory is an integral component of the Ocular Pathology Section and was formally inaugurated in March 2009. 

Major facilities and techniques 

• Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR)

• Methylation-specific PCR

• In-situ hybridization

• Semi-quantitative and quantitative PCR

• mRNA and miRNA expression analysis

• Western blotting

• ELISA

• Mutational analysis through collaborative facilities

• MYD88 mutation analysis for intraocular lymphomas

• Tissue culture facility

The laboratory supports research in cancer biology of intraocular, eyelid and ocular surface malignancies, as well as glaucoma and corneal pathologies. It also provides training in basic molecular biology techniques and immunohistochemistry to postgraduate fellows. 

Research Areas 

The Ocular Pathology Section has active research programmes in: 

• Ocular Oncology

• Intraocular Malignancies

• Orbital Tumours

• Eyelid and Adnexal Tumours

• Ocular Surface Malignancies

• Glaucoma

• Corneal Pathologies

• Molecular Pathology and Cancer Biology

• Molecular biomarkers for diagnosis and prognosis

• Immunohistochemical and molecular characterization of ocular tumours

More than 60 research projects, including extramural grants (ICMR,DST/SERB/ANRF and CSIR) intramural and collaborative projects, were undertaken by the section. 

Research & Innovations 

The Ocular Pathology Section integrates histopathology, immunohistochemistry and molecular biology for translational research in ocular diseases and malignancies. 

• Uveal melanoma research focusing on molecular pathways, tumour progression, metastasis, tumour microenvironment and prognostic markers.

• Retinoblastoma research involving molecular and pathological characterization and development of minimally invasive diagnostic approaches. High throughput diagnostics methods utilizing aqueous fluid done in our molecular pathology laboratory.

• Orbital, eyelid and ocular surface malignancies with emphasis on molecular profiling and novel biomarker discovery in in vitro and patient specimens.

• Corneal and ocular surface research integrating pathological and molecular approaches for improved disease characterization and diagnosis in keratoconus, stevens Johnson syndrome, corneal ulcer/healed keratitis and dry eye diseases.

• Translational molecular research using Whole exome sequencing, PCR, quantitative PCR, mRNA/miRNA analysis, immunohistochemistry, western blotting, ELISA, mutation analysis and tissue culture.

Academic Programmes & Training

The section is actively involved in academic teaching and training in ocular pathology. 

Teaching and Training 

• B.Sc. Optometry

• M.D. Ophthalmology

• Postgraduate fellows

• Training in basic molecular biology techniques

• Training in immunohistochemistry

• Research training in ocular pathology and molecular pathology

The section also supports postgraduate and doctoral research in ocular pathology and related disciplines. 

Ph.D. Programme 

• 8 Ph.D. scholars have completed their thesis

• 1 Ph.D. thesis is currently ongoing

• 3 Postdoctoral researchers

Ocular Pathology Museum

Established in 1976 by Prof. Ratnakar, the Ocular Pathology Museum at Dr. R. P. Centre for Ophthalmic Sciences, AIIMS, New Delhi, is the first dedicated Ocular Pathology Museum in India. The museum represents a unique and valuable repository of ocular pathological specimens and has served as an important teaching and training resource for generations of ophthalmologists, pathologists and researchers.

The museum houses approximately 200 preserved specimens, including representative and interesting cases of: 

• Eyelid lesions

• Orbital lesions

• Staphyloma

• Intraocular tumours

• Extraocular tumours

The collection continues to support teaching, postgraduate training and academic research in ocular pathology.

Publications 

The Ocular Pathology Section has a strong record of academic research and publication. 

Contributed to more than 400 publications, including contributions to an Atlas of Ocular Pathology and chapters in various textbooks. 

Workshops & Academic Activities 

The section has organized and participated in national academic activities in ocular pathology. 

• Ocular Pathology Workshop, organized under the Indian Association of Ocular Pathology at Dr. R. P. Centre on 25 March 2006.

• Ophthalmic Pathology Workshop, organized in December 2023 in association with the Department of Pathology, AIIMS, as part of the 71st IAPM Annual Conference.