[Histonet] indian ink- thank you
Dear everyone, I just wanted to thank you for all the tips concerning the use of indian ink. They helped a lot! Vielen Dank, Frauke ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Re: Harris hematoxylin weak staining
Aazath, There are several strategies you can use to improve your hematoxylin staining. 1 - use distilled or DI water before putting your slides into the stain. Sometimes the chemicals/minerals/metals in the tap water can weaken your stain. 2 - replace your stains when they start showing signs of weakening, or routinely in order to keep the quality even. 3 - try using more than one bucket/dish of hematoxylin and split the total staining time between them. Then you can rotate the last one up to the first position, and put a new change in the second station. This might help keep your staining more consistent. 4 - does your tap water seem to contain a high level of chlorine? If so, you can use a bluing agent to blue your stained slides, and then use DI or distilled water rinses. 5 - do not linger in the decolorizing acid alcohol. Usually one quick dip followed by an immediate plunge into water is all you need. 6 - some have reported that their eosin, if the pH drops too low, can leach out some of the hematoxylin. According to Carson, the ideal pH of eosin is between 4.6 and 5. 7 - what thickness is your tissue? 3 microns thin tissue needs longer in the stain solution than 5 microns thin tissue. There may be others that folks will chime in with, but these are the most obvious ones to me. Good luck! Teri Johnson, HT(ASCP)QIHC Managing Director Histology Facility Stowers Institute for Medical Research 1000 E. 50th St. Kansas City, MO 64110 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] Re: Harris hematoxylin weak staining
If you bleach your staining dishes they must be rinsed to excess or some bleach may remain in the container and effect you staining as it leaches into the solution. Check to be sure everyone takes the time to do this as I have had an issue where one or more people in the lab were more careful tham others about this step. Using Harris requires filtering so the type of filter paper can also cause an issue. Use a more porous paper. Pam Marcum - Original Message - From: Teri Johnson TJJ @ stowers .org To: histonet histonet @lists. utsouthwestern . edu Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 9:57:13 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern Subject: [ Histonet ] Re: Harris hematoxylin weak staining Aazath , There are several strategies you can use to improve your hematoxylin staining. 1 - use distilled or DI water before putting your slides into the stain. Sometimes the chemicals/minerals/metals in the tap water can weaken your stain. 2 - replace your stains when they start showing signs of weakening, or routinely in order to keep the quality even. 3 - try using more than one bucket/dish of hematoxylin and split the total staining time between them. Then you can rotate the last one up to the first position, and put a new change in the second station. This might help keep your staining more consistent. 4 - does your tap water seem to contain a high level of chlorine? If so, you can use a bluing agent to blue your stained slides, and then use DI or distilled water rinses. 5 - do not linger in the decolorizing acid alcohol. Usually one quick dip followed by an immediate plunge into water is all you need. 6 - some have reported that their eosin , if the pH drops too low, can leach out some of the hematoxylin . According to Carson, the ideal pH of eosin is between 4.6 and 5. 7 - what thickness is your tissue? 3 microns thin tissue needs longer in the stain solution than 5 microns thin tissue. There may be others that folks will chime in with, but these are the most obvious ones to me. Good luck! Teri Johnson, HT( ASCP ) QIHC Managing Director Histology Facility Stowers Institute for Medical Research 1000 E. 50th St. Kansas City, MO 64110 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet @lists. utsouthwestern . edu http ://lists. utsouthwestern . edu /mailman/ listinfo / histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Prostate processing
Prostate Laboratories.Would you PLEASE fax us a copy of your processing protocol??? We would be SO greatful. Alsocurious to know if you are utilizing IBF fixative and if you have had to change staining times as some of our pathologists are saying staining is too pale compared to formalin fixed H E. Thank you, Thank you -- K. Leigh Adams, MS, HTL (ASCP) Histology Laboratory Tennessee Urology Associates 800 Oak Ridge TPKE/STE A206 Oak Ridge, TN 37830 (865) 483-1800 FAX (865) 482-2001 kadams...@gmail.com ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Workload value of whole mount embedding and cutting
Hi Histonetters, Could someone that does whole mount specimens share how you count them for workload purposes, as compared to reqular embedding and cutting? (Prostates are the only thing that we currently do as whole mount specimens.) Thanks! Bonnie Whitaker Clinical Histology Manager Ohio State University Medical Center 614.293.5048 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
Re: [Histonet] Workload value of whole mount embedding and cutting
I used to assign to each whole prostate block the equivalent of 3 blocks while embedding and 10 blocks when cutting with our sledge microtome. René J. --- On Mon, 9/21/09, Whitaker, Bonnie bonnie.whita...@osumc.edu wrote: From: Whitaker, Bonnie bonnie.whita...@osumc.edu Subject: [Histonet] Workload value of whole mount embedding and cutting To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Date: Monday, September 21, 2009, 12:19 PM Hi Histonetters, Could someone that does whole mount specimens share how you count them for workload purposes, as compared to reqular embedding and cutting? (Prostates are the only thing that we currently do as whole mount specimens.) Thanks! Bonnie Whitaker Clinical Histology Manager Ohio State University Medical Center 614.293.5048 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] bone marrow assisting?
I am looking for some info on technique at bone marrow procedures? Are aspirates being dropped from the syringe onto the slides or onto a petri dish and only marrow with spicules transferred to slides or something else? ?? Is the syringe heparanized?? Thank you in advance Anna CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged information. Any unauthorized review, use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the sender by reply e-mail and destroy all copies of the original message. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Re: bone marrow assisting?
Anna Inman at St. Mary's Hospital, Grand Junction CO asks: I am looking for some info on technique at bone marrow procedures. - Are aspirates being dropped from the syringe onto the slides or onto a petri dish and only marrow with spicules transferred to slides or something else? ?? - Is the syringe heparinized?? If you don't know how to do this, it's your pathologist's job to teach you how. Grump. We're talking about a posterior iliac crest biopsy, with a core of bone and a syringe full of marrow particles (not spicules) and blood. There are a lot of ways to do this. A very simple method: set a glass slide at about a 15 degree slant. Squirt some of the specimen out of the syringe onto the high end of the slide. The blood will run down the slide, leaving the marrow particles loosely adhering to the slide. Pick up particles one at a time, using a wooden applicator stick broken with the grain to form a tiny flat scoop. Spread and smear each particle between two slides or square coverslips, for as many slides as you want. Heparin isn't needed, and may damage the specimen. If you use it, use only a very small quantity. The remaining specimen may be allowed to clot in the syringe, removed, and fixed for clot sections. I prefer to squirt the remainder of the specimen, not yet clotted, into neutral buffered formalin, and later filter the fixed particles out and embed them in a paraffin block. Why look at (or cut?) all that clot? The person performing the marrow biopsy should not be the same person who does the preparation - it's a two person job. If you don't see any particles on the slide, inform the person doing the aspiration so they can repeat the aspiration. (Some biopsy-ers never quite get the hang of this.) Don't B.S. me - if I haven't got any marrow particles, I want to know! While tracking down stmarygj I found that the hospital has an institute inspired by Geno Saccomanno, the inventor of the well-known cytology fixative. http://www.stmarygj.com/body.cfm?id=61 Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Knoxville TN ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] bone marrow assisting?
The current protocol that we follow here is as follows: Two green tops are obtained first thing for Flow and Cyto followed by eight smears, from that same syringe then draw air in and place on its side allow a clot to form. From the bone bx make a touch prep rolling the bone between two slides prior to dropping the bone in 10%NBF all slides are air dried. You can pick out the best slide for iron and the rest get a Giemsa stain. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] OT: Early Friday Hour of Fuming
I have just found out this morning that I will be unable to attend NSH this year. This alone is unfortunate news for me but, interestingly enough, is not due to budget issues. The reason I am fuming this morning is not because there is no funding for my attendance (that was already in place), but because there is such a serious shortage of histotechs in this country that there is no one to cover me! A traveler is out of the question (that's a budget issue!); anyone that might be hiding and is not known to me to be available in our city would have to have about a month's lead time to get vetted for the position through the State. Anyone that thinks that histology is not important should try to fill a position when there is such a shortage of trained and qualified technicians. If we, as histologists, do not begin to make ourselves more visible and promote our profession as a worthy, fulfilling and job-secure life, more and more of us will find ourselves in this position. Thank you - I feel better for having Fumed. There is no need to reply as I know many of us are in the same boat. I was in the boat and lost my paddle! Sally Breeden, HT(ASCP) NM Dept. of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Services PO Box 4700 Albuquerque, NM 87106 505-841-2576 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Ultra fast pap stain protocol
Hello, Does anyone have a protocol for the Ultra-fast pap stain used on FNA's?? Thanks for your help, Lynette Lynette Pavelich, HT(ASCP) Histology Supervisor MSH Competency Coordinator Hurley Medical Center One Hurley Plaza Flint, MI 48503 email: lpave...@hurleymc.com ph: 810-257-9948 fax: 810-762-7082 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Night Blue for AFB
Does anyone know where to purchase the dye Night Blue? I used this stain for AFB many years ago (1986) and would like to introduce it here. Thank you. M. Fisher El Centro Regional Medical Center El Centro, CA ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] RE: OT: Early Friday Hour of Fuming
That's alright whenever I take vacation I come back to all the work sitting here waiting for me. I just took 2 weeks off and it took 3 weeks to catch up so I feel your pain. Roberta Horner Penn State University Animal Diagnostic Lab -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Breeden, Sara Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 2:23 PM To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Subject: [Histonet] OT: Early Friday Hour of Fuming I have just found out this morning that I will be unable to attend NSH this year. This alone is unfortunate news for me but, interestingly enough, is not due to budget issues. The reason I am fuming this morning is not because there is no funding for my attendance (that was already in place), but because there is such a serious shortage of histotechs in this country that there is no one to cover me! A traveler is out of the question (that's a budget issue!); anyone that might be hiding and is not known to me to be available in our city would have to have about a month's lead time to get vetted for the position through the State. Anyone that thinks that histology is not important should try to fill a position when there is such a shortage of trained and qualified technicians. If we, as histologists, do not begin to make ourselves more visible and promote our profession as a worthy, fulfilling and job-secure life, more and more of us will find ourselves in this position. Thank you - I feel better for having Fumed. There is no need to reply as I know many of us are in the same boat. I was in the boat and lost my paddle! Sally Breeden, HT(ASCP) NM Dept. of Agriculture Veterinary Diagnostic Services PO Box 4700 Albuquerque, NM 87106 505-841-2576 ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] bone marrow assisting?
Same here! Mike -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Lecorchick, William Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 12:50 PM To: 'histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu' Subject: [Histonet] bone marrow assisting? The current protocol that we follow here is as follows: Two green tops are obtained first thing for Flow and Cyto followed by eight smears, from that same syringe then draw air in and place on its side allow a clot to form. From the bone bx make a touch prep rolling the bone between two slides prior to dropping the bone in 10%NBF all slides are air dried. You can pick out the best slide for iron and the rest get a Giemsa stain. ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
[Histonet] Separation Artifact
Hello histonet! I'm trying to figure out the cause of some artifact in my ffpe he skin slides. Every once and a while I get a batch of slides with this strange separation artifact mostly around melanocytes. Its like there is a space around each cell(s). Also the collagen seems to have some odd stretching. I tried recuting to make sure there was no microtomy issues but the artifact remains. I check my waterbath temp / soaked the blocks. Not soaked the blocks. I'm at a loss. This happens to entire processing batch. The doctors say they are still pathologically readable but I still want to find a way to fix this. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
RE: [Histonet] Separation Artifact
Dear theci...@yahoo.com (whoever this is) I would suggest that to fix the problem, make sure you fix the tissues. Shrinkage is often due to alcohol fixation rather than formal fixation Regards Tony Henwood JP, MSc, BAppSc, GradDipSysAnalys, CT(ASC) Laboratory Manager Senior Scientist Tel: 612 9845 3306 Fax: 612 9845 3318 the children's hospital at westmead Cnr Hawkesbury Road and Hainsworth Street, Westmead Locked Bag 4001, Westmead NSW 2145, AUSTRALIA -Original Message- From: histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-boun...@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of theci...@yahoo.com Sent: Tuesday, 22 September 2009 6:27 AM To: Histonet Subject: [Histonet] Separation Artifact Hello histonet! I'm trying to figure out the cause of some artifact in my ffpe he skin slides. Every once and a while I get a batch of slides with this strange separation artifact mostly around melanocytes. Its like there is a space around each cell(s). Also the collagen seems to have some odd stretching. I tried recuting to make sure there was no microtomy issues but the artifact remains. I check my waterbath temp / soaked the blocks. Not soaked the blocks. I'm at a loss. This happens to entire processing batch. The doctors say they are still pathologically readable but I still want to find a way to fix this. Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet * This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you are not the intended recipient, please delete it and notify the sender. Views expressed in this message and any attachments are those of the individual sender, and are not necessarily the views of The Children's Hospital at Westmead This note also confirms that this email message has been virus scanned and although no computer viruses were detected, The Childrens Hospital at Westmead accepts no liability for any consequential damage resulting from email containing computer viruses. ** ___ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
