[Histonet] Inking skins

[Steve McClain]

Many apologies for being cantankerous, BUT

NEVER INK TISSUE WITH A COTTON TIPPED APPLICATOR
Just to be clear- NEVER

Cotton fibers stick to tissue and remain in block.
Fibers hang on microtome blade during cutting, causing tears and artifacts in final section.

I've heard it doesn't matter, we don't see a problem, etc.
True, it matters less when slicing Boorshead bologna.
And more when making museum-quality slides.

Pathologists can see past minor imperfections.
But why deliberately add to the noise or distract the pathologist?

Examples:
When photographing slides, time is wasted getting to the perfect section/area/ region of interest. (pathologists time is valued at zero)
-repeating IHC stains due to sections falling off (double reagent cost for same fee; tech time)
-holes and lost sections in tissue microarray. (those blocks are worth thousands $ and some many thousands)
You get my point.
The studies we do are too valuable to waste on cotton fluff.

Use plain wood end of stick.

Use small pipette.

Steve A, McClain, MD
McClain Laboratories, LLC Smithtown NY
631 361 4000