[Histonet] Artifacts in histology section

[Kim.Donadio <@t> bhcpns.org]

It's very difficult to diagnosis a problem such as this without hands on. 
But one thing that I noticed years ago that was so simple could cause 
this. A build up of tissues on the back of the blade holder. Worth a look. 





Kim Donadio 
Pathology Supervisor
Baptist Hospital
1000 W Moreno St.
Pensacola FL 32501
Phone (850) 469-7718
Fax (850) 434-4996



Joseph Saby <saby_joseph_a <@t> yahoo.com> 
Sent by: histonet-bounces <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
07/25/2010 12:49 PM

To
Aazath Raj <aazath <@t> hotmail.com>, histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
cc

Subject
Re: [Histonet] Artifacts in histology section






What you are describing might be microchatter.  These will be sharp 
parallel 
lines/cracks that run parallel to the knife edge and are only visible 
under the 
microscope.

The usuall cause is a combination of overprocessing and rough facing that 
is too 
aggressive and/or with too dull a blade.  Overprocessing makes the tissue 
very 
hard and somewhat brittle.  The thick sections/dull knife cause the tissue 
to 
compress and then release, causing the chatter.  The actual danage is in 
the 
block face.

Once you have the problem in a block, if the tissue is thick enough, you 
might 
be able to repeatedly soak the block in ice water and gently (with a 
fairly 
sharp knife) reface.  With luck, you might be able to get through the 
damaged 
block face.  


Another artifact I have seen is similar, but the chatter appears very 
blurry.  
This is usually caused be poor fixation/processing, then oversoaking the 
blocks 
after facing.  The trick here is to reface the block, then chill it 
without 
exposure to water.  I've sectioned such blocks after placing them in a 
freezer 
to chill them thoroughly.  This will help to obtain a section, but may not 
fix 
the staining problems that might show up later.  


Good luck!

Joe Saby, BA HT




________________________________
From: Aazath Raj <aazath <@t> hotmail.com>
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Sent: Fri, July 23, 2010 11:26:28 AM
Subject: [Histonet] Artifacts in histology section



Dear Friends,

              I am an Histology Technologist. I am having a problem 
here,while 
sectioning am not seeing and scoring artifacts on the section but in the 
microscope am seeing a tearing artifacts particularly in endoscopy 
biopsies. am 
not able to locate where is the problem,is that because of blades or due 
to 
micro-crystallization of wax or due to any processing problem. Its not 
consistently in all but i get it on some blocks every  day. Can any one 
help me 
in sorting it out. If anybody is interested in will send the picture of 
those 
section.





with regards,

Aazathraj.P

Technical Officer,

Apollo Hospitals-chennai

India.

aazath <@t> hotmail.com


                        
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