[Histonet] Dermpath: dermal/epidermal junction

[Traczyk7 <@t> aol.com]

Kristen,
Have you noticed the artifact in every section of a ribbon, or  are some 
sections better than others?
If it's in all or most of the ribbon then you might want to look at  the 
temperature of, or how much time the paraffin ribbon stays on the  waterbath.  
It may not be tearing of the dermal/epidermal junction but  separation due 
to heat.
If it's only in a few sections, then a mechanical reason for the  
separation could be that the techs are using forceps to remove wrinkles or  folds and 
inadvertently making tears in the sections.
Good luck and let us know if you solve the problem.
Dorothy
 
Dorothy Traczyk
MTA Histology LLC
dorothy <@t> mtahistology.com
 
 
 
In a message dated 3/18/2010 3:23:48 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
arvidsonkristen <@t> yahoo.com writes:

Hello,
I am looking for a network of people who would be willing  to share info on 
derm stuff.  I am currently the supervisor of a fairly  large derm lab.  
We've been open about 13 yrs and I've worked here about  12 yrs (Sup for about 
1).  Things are going pretty well but when I run  into problems I would 
like to share my info with people who may have similar  experiences.  
Currently, I am having some difficulty with quality.   Tissues seem a little dry and 
tough, but they act sensitive to handling.   Upon microscopic exam they 
ofter look torn.  The tearing seems to be  occurring a lot at the 
dermal/epidermal junction.  At first I thought it  may be happening at embedding but now I 
not so sure.  Our processing  schedule/reagents haven't changed and peoples 
work habits are the same.   The Paths have noticed the problem for about 2 
months.  Any help would be  greatly appreciated.  I hope I can be of service 
to one of you in the  future.

Kristen