[Histonet] Section position on slides

[Paula Sicurello]

Hi Tanya,

It's always best to train people to place the section in the middle of
the slide.  It depends if one has to put multiple sections on a slide.
 Learning how to do proper placement will help them when they have to
cut controls for IHC that are often times placed on the top of the
slide.

Sections placed too close to the very bottom or top sometimes don't
get stained or coverslipped.  Too close to the edges and you can
suffer wrap around or overlap, causing the section to be difficult for
the pathologist to read.  Boy howdy!  They will let you know if they
don't like the placement.

Therefore, train for centering the section as best as possible.

I hope this helps,

Paula  :-)

On Wed, Feb 16, 2011 at 12:09 AM, Tanya Ewing-Finchem <tjey <@t> hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> I am trying to put together a training document around microtomy and sectioning and am finding it hard to find information around the placement of the actual sections on the slides.  These are the objectives I am looking to answer.  Is this information found in any publications?
>
> 1)  Tissue / Section Placement:  Are there published guidelines / documentation on precisely where you should place tissue sections on a 25mm x 75mm glass slide?   Perhaps more importantly, where you should NOT place tissue (ie. “x” mm from the edge of the glass slide)?
>
> 2)  Diagnosable Slide Staining Area:  With automation becoming more widely used in IHC, are there published guidelines / documentation on the usable or diagnosable staining area on a 25mm x 75mm glass slide?  For instance, would you define that as the area under a traditional coverslip?  Would this be defined as the entire slide below the label?  Or is this some distance from all the edges of the slide?  With some automated systems, it is near impossible to get edge to edge staining.  Is this acceptable?
>
> Thanks for any ideas.                                     _______________________________________________
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-- 
Paula Sicurello, HTL (ASCP)
Supervisor, Electron Microscope Laboratory
Duke University Health System
Rm.#251M, Duke South, Green Zone
Durham, North Carolina 27710
P:  919.684.2091