HISTOLOGY SERVICES PROVIDED
Based upon your practice needs the following are some of the services PathXdx provides. Please note that other services may be added; let us know the diagnoses you provide your patients. Please let one of our customer solution technologists know about your study so we may better make suggestions as to how collection of tissue should take place. Best results occurs when best practices are exercised at every step of the way.
Histology Services covers accessioning, grossing and dictation (if needed for clinical samples), trimming, tissue processing, embedding, sectioning, staining (routine H&E or special stain), cover-slipping and quality checking the section, stain, and tissue.
ACCESSIONING
As specimens are received, they're checked to make sure what is received matches to what was sent. A unique code (accessioning number) will be assigned to every sample entering our lab.
TRIMMING
Every specimen may get a trim or possibly be cut so it fits the standard cassette and mold. The tissue then is placed in a pre-labelled cassette.
TISSUE PROCESSING
Tissue specimen that have been placed in a pre-labelled cassette goes through a vacuumed infiltration process that dehydrates the tissues and infiltrates them in paraffin.
EMBEDDING
When the tissue cassettes come out of the tissue processor, each individual specimen is individually embedded into molds. Depending on what the pathologist is hoping to see, a special orientation is required to embed the tissue specimen.
SECTIONING
Blocks are then routinely sectioned into 4-5 micron sections to place on positively charged glass slides unless otherwise requested where in an example of a special stain thinner or thicker sections or for DNA/ RNA analysis curls are sectioned into sterilized tubes.
STAINING
Sections on slides are then routinely stained H&E for an initial pathologist reading.
SPECIAL STAINS
After initial pathologist's reading a special stain may be requested for which the pathologist will decide which ones are necessary. Requestors may ask for any special stain. We provide and extensive list of what we currently perform and if not in our list of routines, we can always assess or assist what your needs may be.
STAIN
EVALUATION
Upon your request slides will be evaluated by a qualified pathologist. Stains may also be evaluated using software technologies. We have partnered with sister companies to provide such services at a pass-through cost.
PATHOLOGY READING
Upon your request slides will be evaluated by a qualified pathologist.
IMMUNOHISTOCHEMISTRY (IHC)
Based upon your needs we provide IHC services. We provide all routine simple and complex special services, method development, and consultation.