[Histonet] Smears revisited

[Stephen Peters M.D.]

Hi Lorie,
   
  For a lymphoma I express the material on a single slide. I will pick up another 
  slide touch it to the material and then smear that material  onto a third slide. If 
  there is more than two slides worth of material, quickly keep picking up material 
  and smearing it onto additional slides. If not, make a final smear on whats left on 
  the first slide. Either fix the smears instantly in 95%etoh and do H&E and/or air dry and do a diff quick. Both fixed and air dried are useful and it is worth making both. Rinse the syringe in RPMI. It is important to learn the right amount 
  of material for each slide. Too much will give poor morphology. A good smear can 
  be made even with very little material but making good smears is a skill that
   takes  practice. It must be done very evenly with little more pressure than it takes 
  to run the slides over each other. One can't press too hard or too soft.  If you find
   a good sample under the microscope,  ask if possible for a second pass to put
   in RPMI for flow. If not, hopefully you syringe rinse will have some material. But do 
  not count on it unless you had recognizable material left in the syringe after your
   first expression on the slide. If quick review of the slide does not show 
  enough material for diagnosis ask for another pass and start again. If you want to 
  call me I can give you more details on making smears than my poor typing allows.
   
   
   


Stephen Peters M.D. 
Vice Chairman of Pathology
Hackensack University Medical Center 
201 996 4836
 
Pathology Innovations, LLC 
410 Old Mill Lane, 
Wyckoff, NJ 07481 
201 847 7600 
www.pathologyinnovations.com