The rotation (histopathology), started with a day and a half lecture and review of the basic concepts in relation to histopathology. The topics discussed were the ones being done mainly in the laboratory. We have been re-introduced to the basic concepts and principles applied in the histopathology section.
Our first activity in the laboratory, which happened last April 15, 2008, is about the preparation of reagents. My group was assigned to prepare an acid alcohol with a concentration of 1%. In the said session, we were trained to compute on the volume of each reagent to be combined to make a 1% acid alcohol. The formula C1V1=C2V2 (dilution formula) was used for the said computation.
The second activity in the laboratory is about paper boat making which would be used for embedding purposes. This happened also during the first day of our laboratory session last April 15, 2008. This activity refreshed and enhanced my skills in paper boat making since I usually make a crumpled paper boats in the past. Because of this activity, I learned and discovered new techniques on how to make a neat and presentable paper boats.
The third activity which happened on the morning of April 16, 2008 was about section cutting and fishing out the tissue in the floating out bath. The tissues were already provided and our job is to cut them and place them on the floating out bath. The floating out bath was maintained at a temperature that is 10°C lesser than the melting temperature of paraffin (45°C). Such temperature should be maintained to avoid melting of the paraffin in the floating out bath. The floating out procedure is incorporated in tissue section preparation to straighten up the tissue section prior to fishing out. During the said activity, I realized that practice really makes perfect. Just like paper boat making, section cutting is also my weakness. Following the section cutting, floating out the tissue from the floating out bath was the next procedure done. In this certain activity, I have successfully floated out and stained a section of my tissue during my first trial. During deparaffinization, the whole class used direct flame with the use of an alcohol and xylene.
On the afternoon of April 16, 2008, staining was the next procedure we have performed. We are all required to stain all our tissue sections made. The staining procedure is based on the principle of histochemistry which means the chemical reaction of the tissue towards the dye. This activity made us memorize by heart the uses of each reagents and stain which was positioned in an array according to its sequence. We used the H&E staining method which is a regressive type of staining.
The sixth activity deals on the mounting and embedding of our newly stained tissue. This activity have trained me to control my hands and made sure that there would be no any bubble formation during performing the procedure. The mountant used was Eukitt mounting medium which is considered as a good mounting medium. A good mounting medium should have a refractive index near to 1.518. The Eukitt mounting medium dries in 20 minutes and remains clear for at least 10 years. This mountant is passive to ultraviolet light and is unaffected by cold.
The last activity during our histopathology rotation is pap smearing. Prior to the activity, we were all asked to bring turbid urine. The turbidity of urine is very detrimental on the tissue staining since a lot of debris is needed for this staining process. The Pap test can indicate a presence of infection, abnormal cervical cells or, cervical cancer. This activity made me differentiate the differences and similarities of H&E staining and Pap staining.
1 comment:
"The turbidity of urine is very detrimental on the tissue staining since a lot of debris is needed for this staining process."
I think what you meant to say was essential instead of detrimental.
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