[Histonet] Embedding W/WO Melted Paraffin

[Nick Kirk]

George

We send all of ours away now as we do so few it's difficult to retain the
level of expertise required.
thanks for the offer though.

As for the Robin Hood boyhood dreams, well sorry to burst your bubble but
the Earl of Huntingdon was a Victorian invention that got into the legend
and was then firmly concreted into the myth by the likes of Errol Flynn (who
incidentally was a jobbing actor at the Northampton Repertory Theatre just a
few miles down the road, before he made it big in Hollywood).
The real Earl of Huntingdon who lived at the time of the Magna Carta when
"The Hooded Man" was supposed to have lived was David de HUNTINGDON Earl of
Huntingdon (1144-1219) and not old "Bob Hood"
The Earl was the son of the King of Scotland. There was a castle at
Huntingdon, but it was destroyed by King Henry II (Richard I and John's
father) when it transpired that the Earl's family plotted to overthrow him.
That may have something to do with how he got mixed up in the legend.
All that remains of it now is a grassy hump in a park in the town.

Incidentally the Earls descendents were on the side of the Royalists during
the English Civil War and another son of Huntingdon, one Oliver Cromwell,
laid siege to their nice new castle at Ashby-de-la-Zouch in Leicestershire
and destroyed it. So the Earls of Huntingdon never had much luck with
castles.
Sherwood Forest is also about 70 miles away. Not far these days, but in
1205, a very long way away.

Here endeth today's History lecture.
Tomorrow, another son of Huntingdon, the diarist Samuel Pepys.

Nicke Kirke
Ye Head Purveyor of leeches and strange pungent unctures
Histopathology
Hinchingbrooke Hospital for ye sicke and Infirmed
Huntingdon
Merry Olde England

-----Original Message-----
From: George Cole [mailto:georgecole <@t> ev1.net]
Sent: 21 January 2004 16:23
To: 'Nick Kirk'
Subject: RE: [Histonet] Embedding W/WO Melted Paraffin


Nick
I've been sending out packets of new more effective muscle and nerve
biopsy methods to histotechs since last July.  I have your name on my
list from a few months back, but it doesn't show that I sent you a
packet. If muscle biopsies and/or nerve biopsies are done there in your
histopathology lab at Hunchingbrooke Hospital, I would be happy to send
you one of these packets. THERE IS NO CHARGE FOR IT. You would be the
100th histotech to get one. I need the complete address of your
institution---the post office is strict in that. I only wish I could
bring it myself. As a child, I read every Robin Hood story ever written.
I would go deep into Sherwood Forest, cut myself a good stout cudgel
(actually, buy one from a lumber mill so as not to bother the woods)take
up a truncheon of good stout brown pepsi cola and toast the discomfort
of the sheriff of Nottingham under a tree close to the stream where Big
John and Robin met with quarter staves a-knocking.
georgecole <@t> ev1.net
-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Nick
Kirk
Sent: Tuesday, January 20, 24 10:20 PM
To: Histonet
Subject: RE: [Histonet] Embedding W/WO Melted Paraffin

Dannie

I agree with you entirely.

The argument that the biopsies will "cook" is totally spurious, after
all,
they've been sitting in molten paraffin wax on the processing machine
for
several hours before reaching the embedding stage so a few more minutes
will
have no effect.

Also speaking from personal experience, embedding a "wet" piece of
tissue is
much easier than embedding a "warm but dry" piece of tissue.
This is especially useful when you have a small piece of tissue
requiring a
particular orientation.

The point you make about small biopsies is also a good one.
You might be able to get away with using the "warm but dry" technique if
you
only had a few blocks to embed,
but any lab with a sizeable through put should avoid that method of
embedding in my opinion (for what it's worth).

I think I'm probably correct in saying that here in the UK, the "wet"
method
is used in almost every lab in the country, if not all of the labs in
the
country.

Nick Kirk
Head Biomedical Scientist
Histopathology
Hinchingbrooke Hospital
Huntingdon
England

-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
[mailto:histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu]On Behalf Of
DMBCMP <@t> aol.com
Sent: 21 January 2004 03:37
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Embedding W/WO Melted Paraffin


Hi, everyone:
In order to settle a difference of opinion between generations of
trained
Histotechs in my lab, may I have feedback from anyone interested in
responding?
Do you cover the blocks in melted paraffin in the embedding centre
reservior
and hold them that way while embedding? or....
Do you dump them in the warm reservior "dry" (not covered in melted
paraffin)
and embed them that way?
Do you consider this "dry" method as bad technique since a tiny biopsy
specimen MAY not be noticed as the paraffin quickly solidifies?
We have a dispute.  I have researched every book I can find and there is
no
reference to it anywhere.  A newly trained tech that came to work for us
said
no mention was made during her training period.  Some techs did...and
some
didn't. As a tech of nearly 27 years, I find this practice to be just
asking
for
trouble.  I was trained to keep everything melted.  There seems to be
some
argument against keeping the cassettes in the melted paraffin, claiming
it
"cooks"
the biopsies.  I don't buy it, but what are the opinions of others?
It seems so basic to me.  I hope this does not come across as frivilous.
Thanks for your input.

Dannie Blake HT(ASCP)  Histology Lead Tech
Fresno Community Medical Centre
Fresno, California

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