Early Path Medical Consultation Services

Early Path Medical Consultation Services
Pathology Services Working for Safer Pregnancies

Frequently Asked Questions - Tissue Studies

What are "tissue studies"?

"Tissue studies" is a way of describing histopathologic examination. Histopathologic examination is NOT the same as cytogenetic studies, which require the cells of the tissue to be able to grow. As cells are growing and dividing, their chromosomes get short and stumpy, so they can be identified separately and counted. Histopathologic examination simply takes one or more "representative tissue samples", as the pathologist usually says, and fixes them in a preservative (often formalin). Of course, then the cells can't be growing, but they are well preserved to study the details of the cell and tissue structure. The fixed tissue is embedded in wax, and a thin slice of the wax block is cut and laid flat on a microscope slide. Chemicals are then applied in a sequence which allows the nucleus of the cell (where the chromosomes are) to turn blue, and the protein and other parts of the cell and tissues to stain (generally) pink. The stained and coverslipped (protected) slide is placed under a microscope and examined.

DISCLAIMER: This communication is for educational purposes only and it is not to be used as a substitute for a consultation with your physician. Should you contact Dr. Salafia's office, any responses to you will be based on the information you provide and no attempt will be made to confirm or verify any such information, including any laboratory data you may submit. Questions regarding actual symptoms of illness or health conditions should be addressed to a local health care practitioner who can physically examine and take responsibility for your care throughout the course of your condition/illness, which Dr. Salafia, being a physician licensed to practice medicine only in the State of New York, cannot and will not do. You should NOT use this information to diagnose or treat a health problem; rather, you should consult a qualified health care provider who examines you in person and who is licensed to practice in the state where you are located.