What happens to the tissue sample in the pathology department?
We asked the following about this
Dr. AnkeScharrer
Specialist in pathology
Clinical Institute of Pathology, MedUni Vienna – Vienna General Hospital
If imaging examinations such as mammography, ultrasound and/or magnetic resonance examinations provide abnormal results, a so-called punch biopsy is carried out by the treating radiologist.
Breast tissue is removed and forwarded for pathological diagnosis.
Are there pathologists who specialize in cancer?
During their 6-year specialist training, all pathologists learn to recognize every type of cancer in tissue samples.
In addition, there is additional training for the diagnosis of breast cancer in the so-called breast health centers.
What steps precede the pathologist’s findings?
The sample, in the case of breast cancer the punch biopsy from the breast, is sent to the pathology department in formalin liquid.
Formalin preserves the sample material and the sample should ideally be left in it for 24 hours.
As part of further processing, the samples are measured and placed in embedding cassettes (labeled with the sample number, which ensures that they can be assigned to the respective patient).
The next processing step is dehydration of the material, which is carried out in special machines over several hours – usually overnight.
The next day, the tissue sample is embedded in kerosene (a material similar to candle wax) and after cooling, micrometer-thin sections are made.
These sections are mounted on glass slides, partially stained and delivered to the pathologists after brief drying.
As a rule, it takes around 48 hours before the sample material can be examined for the first time.
