IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS IN HISTOPATHOLOGY

1. Histopathology- is the study of abnormal human or animal tissues

2. Histopathologic Techniques- deals with the preparation of animal and human tissues thin
enough for microscopic studies
3. Exfoliative Cytolgy- entails the microscopical examination and interpretation of cells that are
shed spontaneously from epithelial surface or by physical means. Branch of General
Pathology, concerned with the detection of cancer and various other pathologic conditions in
man through microscopic examination of body fluids and secretions.
4. Biopsy- cutting the cells from living (specimen) person, or it is any piece of tissue or organ
removed from operation for diagnosis.
TYPES OF BIOPSY
a. Surgical or Section Biopsy- is obtaining surgical sections of tissues for histological
diagnosis
1. Routine Paraffin (or Celloidin) Method
2. Rush Frozen Section Technique
b. Aspiration or Needle Biopsy- consists of the aspiration of cells or particles from tumors
for histological diagnosis especially from lumps under the skin like those of breast and neck
c. Exfoliative Biopsy- is the examination of fluids from exudates or transudates from serous
cavities such as pleura or peritoneum or sputum and urine or bronchial washings. By
modern methods of coagulation and sedimentation of the centrifuged fluids from the
coagulum can be made into paraffin blocks and resemble regular biopsy specimen.
BIOPSY SPECIMENS ARE CLASSIFIED INTO 5 CATEGORIES, NAMELY
a. External Growth- the growth removed from the external surface of the body such as a
mole
b. Surgical Growth- an organ or part of the organ removed from within the human body
through an incision such as appendix, tumors of the stomach or kidney.
c. Endoscopic Growth- growth removed from within the body by insertion of the instrument
through a natural opening such as rectal polyp.
d. Puncture- bone marrow sample taken from the puncture into the sternum
e. Aspiration- removal of the fluid or soft tissue from the body by insertion of an instrument
such as the Vimsivermann’s needle and the subsequent withdrawal of the material for
examination.
5. Autopsy- A post mortem examination of dead bodies to determine the cause of death
6. Death- cessation of the tree vital functions of the body that includes: (a) respiratory; (b)
circulatory; (c) nervous.
SIGNS OF DEATH
a. Algor mortis- ot cooling or lowering of the body temperature after death to equalize that of the
environment. Body temperature equalized that of the surrounding medium in 16-40 hours after
death.
b. Livor mortis- or post-mortem lividity is a purplish discoloration of the skin over dependent
parts of the body due to congestion and dilation of the veins and capillaries into which blood is
driven by contraction of the arteries as well as the diffusion of liberated hemoglobin into the
surrounding tissue.
c. Rigor mortis- or post-mortem rigidity is the stiffness of skeletal muscle appearing within six
hours of death.
d. Post-mortem clotting- after death the blood clots. The largest blood clots are formed at the
right auricle of the heart as well as the large veins.
 e. Post-mortem decomposition (Putrefaction) - is the formation of H2S and other aromatic
gases that produce a very offensive odor.
NOTE: All these changes are brought about by the generalized invasion of the blood and tissue by
bacillus coli and other saprophytes.
f. Autolysis- means “self-destruction” and is caused after death of cells by the action of
intracellular enzymes whose normal behavior is altered, causing the breakdown of protein and
eventual liquefaction of cells.
HISTOPATHOLOGIC TECHNIQUES:
1. NUMBERING- is the process of indicating the number of the specimen by means of a pencil in
order to properly identify the specimen. Properly speaking it is the first step in all
histopathologic techniques.
2. FIXATION- process of preserving cells and tissue constituents in a condition identical to that
existing during life and to do this is a way that will allow the preparation of thin stained
sections.
3. DEHYDRATION- process of water removal from the tissue prior to replacement by wax, water
is immiscible with paraffin or wax.
4. CLEARING OR DEALCOHOLIZATION- is the process whereby the alcohol in the tissue is
replaced by a fluid that will dissolve the wax with which the tissue must be impregnated.
5. WAX OR PARAFFIN IMPREGANTION- is the process that involves the impregnation of tissue
with a medium that will fill the natural cavities, spaces and interstices of the tissue.
6. EMBEDDING- is the process that involves the use of molds for the purpose of setting the
embedding medium to a sufficient consistency in order to allow the cutting of suitably thin
sections without undue distortion and without alteration of the spatial relationships of the tissue
and cellular elements; facilitates sectioning.
7. BLOCKING- is the process that involves the separation of one tissue block from another using
sharp knife (performed only when one uses a compound embedding unit).
8. TRIMMING- the process that involves the cutting of excess wax (in thin slices to prevent the
block from cracking) from the tissue block so that the block forms a four-sided prism or
truncated pyramid opposite sides being parallel (this is most important if serial sections are
desired).
9. SECTIONING- is the process of cutting very thin slices of tissues accomplished with an
especially designed instrument called the microtome.
10. STAINING- is the process involving the use of a variety of dyes or stains for the purpose of
optically differentiating the cellular and tissue constituents and also to determine the free
chemical nature of some details in the cells (histochemical staining).
11. MOUNTING- is the process that involves the use of a medium and a coverslip to facilitate the
ease of handling and storage of the slide and to prevent damage to the section.
12. LABELING- the process of indicating the year and specimen number on one end of the
prepared side for proper identification.
 COMMON TERMS IN THE TISSUE LABORATORY

 Acidophilic- readily stained with acid dyes.

 Alcoholic- a solution in which the solvent is alcohol
 Aqueous- a solution in which the solvent is water; watery
 Autolysis- destruction of the tissues by enzymes that are produced by the tissue
 Artifact- particles or crystals deposited during processing, usually during fixation
 Accentuators- substances which do not take part in the staining reaction but cause an
increase in the selectivity or in the staining power of the dye.
 Aplasia- is the incomplete or defective development of a tissue or organ
 Agenesia- complete none appearance of an organ.
 Atrophy- an acquired decreased in the size of normally developed or mature organ or tissue
 Basophilic- readily stained with basic dyes
 Biconcave- having two concave surfaces, what is two surfaces hallowed or rounded inwards
 Blueing- washing sections in tap water or alkaline solution causing hematoxylin to stain blue;
this process normally follows differentiation in acid/alcohol
 Bevel Angle (27-320)- angle formed between the cutting edge of microtome knife
 Chatters- horizontal thick and thin ridges appearing in sections
 Clearing- removal of the dehydrating agent and its replacement with a substance that is
miscible with the embedding or mounting medium to be used
 Clearance Angle (0-150)- angle formed between the surface of the block and the cutting edge
of the knife
 Cytoplasm- the protoplasm of the cell external to the nucleus.
 Decalcification- the removal of calcium salts from the tissue following fixation
 Decolorization- the removal of color from stained section; to differentiate
 Dehydration- the removal of water from a tissue or section
 Deliquescent- capable of becoming liquid by absorbing moisture from the air
 Differentiation- the washing out of excess stain until the required color or combination of
colors is obtained.
 Dura Matter- the outer and toughest of the three membranes surrounding the brain and spinal
cord
 Endogenous Pigment- pigment formed within the tissue bu natural means (e.g. melanin)
 Exogenous Pigment- pigment within the tissue but having their origin outside the body (e.g.
tattoos)
 Embedding- placing a specimen into an embedding medium and causing it to solidify; it is
often referred to as casting or blocking.
 Fixation- the preservation of fresh tissue
 Fixative- reagent or combination of reagents used to fix tissue
 Heel- applied to the microtome knife, the end to which the handle is attached.
 Honing- the action of sharpening a knife by grinding cutting edge, either on a stone or with an
abrasive compound.
 Hypo- synonym for sodium thiosulfate
 Hypoplasia- failure of an organ to reach or achieve full maturity or adult size
  Hyperplasia- an increase in the size of an organ or tissue due to an increase in the number of
cells
 Inflammation- sum total changes in the living tissues in response to an injurious agent
including the local reaction and the repair of injury

CARDINAL SIGNS OF INFLAMMATION

a. Rubor (Redness) - due to arteriolar and capillary dilatation with an increased rate of blood
flow toward the site of injury and concentration/packing of the red cells in the capillaries
causing increased viscosity and slowing of blood flow.
b. Tumor (Swelling)- due to increased permeability allowing the extravasation of blood fluid, with
increased hydrostatic pressure within the dilated arterioles and capillaries causing localized
edema (tumor)
c. Calor (Heat)- due to transfer of internal heat to the surface or site of injury
d. Dolor (Pain)- due to the pressure upon the sensory nerve by the exudates or tumor
e. Functio Laesa (Diminished Function)- due to pain interference with nerve supply and to
destruction of the functioning units of the tissue.
 Impregnation- the saturation of the tissue with an embedding medium; the deposition of salts
of heavy metals on or around tissue tibers during a staining reaction
 Metachromatic- a reaction in which a substance is stained a different color to that of the stain
employed. This phenomenon is only found in basic aniline dye.
 Metaplasia- reversible change involving the transformation in one type of cell to another
 Micron- 1/1000th of a millimeter (1/25000th of an inch); unit of measurement for the thickness
of sections, the diameter of cells and the size of bacteria ;it is denoted by the symbol µ
 Microtome- the machine on which sections are cut
 Mordant- a substance which causes a staining reaction to take place by forming an insoluble
lake between the dye and the tissue
 Nucleus- the darkly staining body within the cell containing hereditary characteristics of the
cell and composed of nucleoprotein
 Orientation- the precise positioning of the tissue in a block, aligning the block of the
microtome or placing a section on the slide
 Pawl- a pivoted tongue adapted to fall into notches on a ratchet wheels thus permitting rotating
in one direction only
 Plano-concave Knife- one side flat and the other side is concave
 Protoplasm- the main constituent of all cells, it is a homogenous translucent substances
containing water with salts and sugar in true solution, protein in colloidal solution and inorganic
salts
 Post-chromatization- is the treatment of tissue in 3% aqueous solution of potassium
dichromate for 24 hours following fixation and is normally used as a method of mordanting
 Progressive Staining- staining each constituent each constituent to a precise color or density
without over- staining and differentiating it
 Pigment- color or particles imparted to cells and tissues
 Quenching- the rapid freezing of tissue during freeze- drying as a means of preservation
 Ratchet-wheel –a toothed wheel turned by means of an engaging pawl, a part of a microtome
 Refractive Index- the ratio of the velocity of light in air to the velocity of light in a substance
 Regressive Staining- technique of over- staining and then washing out or differentiating the
excess stain
 Scores- tears across a section due to dirt; foreign bodies in the tissue or a “nick” in the knife
 Sections- extremely thin slices of tissue usually 4 to 15 µ in thickness
 Smear- a thin layer of cell spread out on a microscope slide
 Stain- a dye or mixture of dyes used to impart color to the substance
 Staining- the process of coloring the cell, cellular constituents and tissue fibers to facilitate
optical differentiation by microscopic examination.
 Stropping- process of polishing the cutting edge of the knife on leather or canvas done after
honing, with toe-to-heel direction
 Secondary Fixation- term used when tissue are placed in a second fixative to facilitate the
demonstration of a specific substance
 Vacuum Embedding- embedding under negative atmospheric pressure
 Washing-Out- is the process of removing excess fixative from the tissue after fixation in order
to improve staining and remove artifacts from the tissue.