Disease Prognosis with Histopathology: We are all aware of the basic biology in life. Our entire life surrounds a small structure called a cell and, it is the structural and functional unit of all humans. Whatever organs we possess inside our body are made up of a group of cells forming tissues. If we are concerned about the tissues, we need to be familiar with the histopathology of the tissues.
Expanding the Genre of Histopathology
Primarily, the histopathology test is the study of the tissues under a microscope to detect the presence of an anomaly. It usually comprises a dissected whole tissue section under the microscope. The aim behind such a procedure is to detect the presence of any abnormal cell or tissue growth. It can also be the naïve name for the biopsy report, where a surgeon may advise the analysis of thin frozen tissue sections. The appearance of the cell types may give the grading system of the disease prognosis.
Disease Prognosis with Histopathology: Methods of Histopathology Test
Specimen Preparation– Obtaining a fresh tissue sample is a challenge and maintaining it in viable form requires expertise. It would help if you fixed the model immediately after dissection. There are high chances of tissue degradation during dissection, so an expert needs to handle the procedure.
Fixing the Sample–
The dissected tissue then finds its place in the formalin solution for fixation. The chemical components of the formalin solution find their way through the tissue spaces and harden the tissue. It is the fixation step that will protect the tissue specimen from any further damage. The fixative should have the ability to preserve the tissue structure without self-reaction. The hardening should be optimum to cut thin microtome sections of the tissues. The width of the sample section should be sufficient enough to retain the stain during the histopathology test. The processing of the specimen and their storage should be within a suitable temperature. It will help to maintain tissue viability.
Dehydration Step-
It is another crucial step in the histopathology test. The microtome section of the tissues occurs in molten paraffin wax. As the paraffin wax is hydrophobic, the water in the specimen may interfere with the solubility of the specimen section. Hence, the removal of water from the model is an essential step. Ethanol can replace water content in the specimen to avoid any tissue distortion and preservation. It serves as the final step of tissue fixation.
Clearing the Tissue Section–
As ethanol is also somewhat miscible with paraffin, the wax cannot replace the content. It is when we need to use an intermediate clearing agent. This agent will cleanse off the remaining wax or ethanol content from the specimen and allow paraffin infiltration. Usually, xylene is a clearing agent that finds application in histopathology tests.
Wax Fixation–
The histopathological wax is usually melted at around sixty degrees and placed over the specimen for infiltration. The paraffin wax possesses a precise infiltration technique to reach the intricate parts of the model and spread out evenly. The use of paraffin wax also enables the thin sectioning of the tissue sample keeping the structure intact.
Blocking or Embedding-
Once the paraffin wax ultimately enters the tissue section, the specimen is in the form of a paraffin block. The block finds its way inside a mold that gives the required shape to the wax block containing the sample. The position of the specimen section in the mold will determine the plane of microtome sectioning. It is one of the most crucial steps in this procedure.
Staining and Viewing–
The final step involves viewing the hematoxylin-eosin-stained tissue specimen under the microscope. The stain will highlight the notable features within the cell and help in the precise detection of the tissue sample. The thin microtome cut wax section of the tissue will depict the histopathological features of the tissue.
Some forms of Preparing Histopathology Test Samples
Whole Mount Specimen– It is a specimen preparation that includes the entire organism and its parts. You can directly view the specimen under the microscope by stretching the sample on the slide surface. You can add a specific solution on the surface to make it visible with clarity under a microscope.
Squash Type Specimen–
Usually, the specimen belonging to the botanical nature are prepared using this method. In this type of sample preparation, the botanical extracts or specimen get squashed on the surface of the slide. It helps to break open the contents of the model for a better view.
Smear Preparation–
Usually, liquid specimens like blood, microbe culture, and blood finds their specimen preparation in the form of a spot. A drop of the sample on the surface of the slide undergoes smearing with another fall. It gives a clear view of the desired contents under a microscope.
Histopathology test also forms a strong foundation for testing deadly diseases like cancer. Several forms of cancer can get detected at an early stage. Several types of malignancy like leukemia, carcinoma, several types of chromosomal abnormalities can get early detection with the help of histopathology tests. Disease Prognosis with Histopathology, Disease Prognosis with Histopathology, Disease Prognosis with Histopathology, Disease Prognosis with Histopathology.
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