Marc Brunet Mar 11, 2015:

Sure. Thankyou Torin. Actually what I was trying to work out is not the plain meaning of 通過, but
a) what less common variant meanings can, depending on the context, be construed from it,
b) whether 通過 can be taken as a "marked" form of を通る or を経て　for 'passing through.', while the corresponding unmarked forms of that meaning may acceptably be rendered with a simple 'via...'
If that is the case, the use of 通過 prompts for a closer look at its context for a reason for it, as in your query.
So, in your itinerary example, I would tend to take 通過 as a marked form stressing the notion of 'passing through without stopping'.
If this squares up with your native feel of 通過，then rephrasing this latter notion to 'by-passing', as your context required, comes naturally. That's why I suspected this use of -過 as highly significant and, for my my own mental Thesaurus map, needed to sort it out. But the signal just received re: 通過 also signifying 'to skip' makes a lot of sense, and settles everything. Thank you Port City!:-)

Port City Mar 11, 2015:

mmb42さん、通過 primarily means "to pass", but sometimes it means "to skip (a certain process)" as in here. If you take a train and the station you intend to get off is a 通過駅, initially, you are happy because the train is heading towards your destination. But, alas, you'll find it doesn't stop there; the train skips the "stopping operation". (cf.停車駅)

torarin (asker) Mar 11, 2015:

過 itself means to pass, so 通過 may give you a sense of passing something..
Actually, we can say that we just 通過した (passed) Nagoya on the way to Osaka.
But the 通過 in the question means more than what is written; the 検体 (sample) passes the first section without actually being passed. I hope this help you with understanding it.

Marc Brunet Mar 11, 2015:

Thank you all. I learnt a lot from this. Somehow, I now would tend to identify the 過 of 通過 as the semantem that gives away the by- of by-pass. Would that be your native feel as well?

torarin (asker) Mar 11, 2015:

Port Cityさん
そうですね、テスト部分だけです。
ありがとうございます。

torarin (asker) Mar 11, 2015:

Thank you for the question, mmb42.
通過 in this case does not mean pass. For example, imagine a conveyor line in a factory; the sample does not have to be inspected at the first section for some reason, such as it obviously looks being in a perfect condition or maybe it came from other line where all samples passed. The sample in question is then allowed to move to the second section without being inspected at the first one.

Port City Mar 10, 2015:

a test-bypassing specimen? 通過検体が通過するのはプロセスの一部（テスト部分）だけですか？それならば、a specimen that bypasses the testing section なので、それを短く a test-bypassing specimen と表現できると思います。「一部を通過する」というニュアンスはありませんが、「検査を受けない検体」なら ”not for test specimens"でも良いでしょうが、何が一番フィットするかは、原文のなかで、通過検体がどう使われているかによると思います。

Marc Brunet Mar 10, 2015:

Is your intro' a guideline statement or a speculative query?
Would be inclined to read 通過検体 differently as: 'Pass' test specimen (for use in a context where that test is still to be performed on that particular sample), but can you clarify the intended take of your own comment?