Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Hey guys, this is my last posting for our SIP.
I was posted to Histopathology lab for 2 weeks and everyday was packed with things to be done due to low manpower. Anyway, in the lab everyone has to be well rounded in all aspects such as immunology, sectioning, trimming/passing and so on.
The day starts with blocking/embedding of fixed specimens into paraffin wax that were prepared overnight. Next, the lab technicians will shave the blocks and immersed them in softeners for around ten minutes to achieve a smoother and softer cut to get the ribbons for fixing onto the slides. (Note that we have learnt these during pathology so I won’t go in detail, but you guys can ask questions about it)
The most interesting task that I look forward to everyday would be the passing part in the afternoon when we will retrieve all the specimens for the day and sort them accordingly. Passing is done by lab technicians whereas trimming is done by pathologists and the dictations are assisted by the technician. The difference is that the pathologists trim/section the larger kinds of specimens such as colon, breast tissue, stomach, etc and frozen section specimens (specimens received from the operating theater) whereas the technicians will pass specimens such as breast lumps, appendix, prostatic cores, etc. In our lab, appendix, intestines and breast tissues are common and it is quite rare to receive specimens such as aborted fetus, nose (however we did received it for the first time 3 weeks ago), leg, etc. I helped out daily with the dictation part by writing the measurements of the specimens received, their description and comments given by the technicians.
The thing that I would like to further touch on would be the retrieval of prostatic cores.
It is done through needle biopsies for the diagnosis of prostate cancer by the pathologist. A minimum of 8 cores are required and it is made up of 4 from each side of the prostate gland and the 4 cores are from the apex, mid, periurethral and base. The whole procedure is done using a biopsy gun which is inserted through the wall of the rectum into the prostate gland area. I’m not clear of the whole procedure as I don’t get to see it.
Next, during passing of the prostate cores, the length are noted and inked blue before being wrapped in a filter paper and place into a cassette for fixing. Note that the cassettes are to be placed in formalin as soon as possible to prevent the cores from drying causing shrinkage leading to inaccurate diagnosis.
I was posted to Histopathology lab for 2 weeks and everyday was packed with things to be done due to low manpower. Anyway, in the lab everyone has to be well rounded in all aspects such as immunology, sectioning, trimming/passing and so on.
The day starts with blocking/embedding of fixed specimens into paraffin wax that were prepared overnight. Next, the lab technicians will shave the blocks and immersed them in softeners for around ten minutes to achieve a smoother and softer cut to get the ribbons for fixing onto the slides. (Note that we have learnt these during pathology so I won’t go in detail, but you guys can ask questions about it)
The most interesting task that I look forward to everyday would be the passing part in the afternoon when we will retrieve all the specimens for the day and sort them accordingly. Passing is done by lab technicians whereas trimming is done by pathologists and the dictations are assisted by the technician. The difference is that the pathologists trim/section the larger kinds of specimens such as colon, breast tissue, stomach, etc and frozen section specimens (specimens received from the operating theater) whereas the technicians will pass specimens such as breast lumps, appendix, prostatic cores, etc. In our lab, appendix, intestines and breast tissues are common and it is quite rare to receive specimens such as aborted fetus, nose (however we did received it for the first time 3 weeks ago), leg, etc. I helped out daily with the dictation part by writing the measurements of the specimens received, their description and comments given by the technicians.
The thing that I would like to further touch on would be the retrieval of prostatic cores.
It is done through needle biopsies for the diagnosis of prostate cancer by the pathologist. A minimum of 8 cores are required and it is made up of 4 from each side of the prostate gland and the 4 cores are from the apex, mid, periurethral and base. The whole procedure is done using a biopsy gun which is inserted through the wall of the rectum into the prostate gland area. I’m not clear of the whole procedure as I don’t get to see it.
Next, during passing of the prostate cores, the length are noted and inked blue before being wrapped in a filter paper and place into a cassette for fixing. Note that the cassettes are to be placed in formalin as soon as possible to prevent the cores from drying causing shrinkage leading to inaccurate diagnosis.
Photos retrieved from http://www.upmccancercenters.com/cancer/prostate/biopsyneedle.html
These are examples of stained prostate core slides:
Retrieved from http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hmn/F02/feature2.html
Yup, that is all, I’m not sure are the information sufficient cause in the histology lab, although I get to observe the procedure of the immunology staining process, but we are not allowed to do anything and there is not much learnt there. =)
Debbie
TG02
=)
3:31 PM