Tutorials

The Mohs series will present relevant topics to today's laboratorians practicing Mohs surgeries. This introductory article is the first of the series and will describe steps for practicing surgeries. The second and third series will provide thoughts on setting up a new laboratory and tips for completing a Mohs laboratory inspection.

Download this guide for best practices when planning to integrate digital pathology in the laboratory. The Interoperability Framework applies a 5-layer model connecting organizational strategies, processes, information, application, and IT infrastructure.

This article provides an overview of biopsy procedures with an example of observations in a comprehensive health network biopsy suite.

For routine diagnosis, the use of Hematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) is by far preferred for viewing cellular and tissue structure detail by pathologists. 

Though the H&E stain is a relatively simple stain to perform, there are a variety of artifacts that can interfere with a good stain. Artifacts can be attributed to a variety of causes.

After a joint has been decalcified, the loss of proteoglycans in the articular cartilage causes it to fold and ripple during the staining process. When this occurs, it makes it impossible to perform histo-morphometry or measurements of the cartilage.

Microorganisms are living organisms which include bacteria, fungi, protozoa and viruses. Bacteria, fungi and protozoa can be identified and classified with histochemical procedures and viruses are generally identified with immunohistochemical procedures.

Special stains" are processes that generally employ a dye or chemical that has an affinity for the particular tissue component that is to be demonstrated. This article includes the processes and protocols necessary to demonstrate connective tissue.