Histotechnician pt 2

What is the most common fixative?

10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF)

What are some key skills needed to be successful?

Attention to detail, ability to work independently, strong organization, high level of accuracy, communication skills, and ability to met deadlines.

What are the steps in tissue preparation?

Fixation, Dehydration/Processing, Embedding, Sectioning

What fields can a histech work in?

Healthcare, Vet services, and botany, forensic science and dermatology

When are frozen samples used?

When the pathologist needs to alert a surgical team but this must be done quickly and precisely

What are some of the biggest challenges you might face?

ensuring quality samples of tissue, dealing with difficult and challenging cases, maintaining a high level of accuracy and precision, keeping up with technology, dealing with dangerous samples and chemicals.

Sectioning

mounting the tissue on a microtome and cutting it into sections the preferred thickness is 4-5mircometers so that it can be stained and viewed under a microscope.

Embedding

putting a sample into paraffin wax or plastic resin to enhance the process of extracting cellular structures but you must preform with caution b/c if done incorrectly it could cause false reports.

What are some things that Histotechnicians are exposed to?

sharp knifes, slick floors, hazardous chemicals, and pathogens

Fixation

using chemicals to preserve the structure of the tissue in its natural form and protects it from degradation

Why are you a vital role in patient care?

you are apart of the diagnosis of a patient, this can determine a patients future and treatment plan/next step in care. preparing a good sample for the pathologist allows them to better identify disease and let a surgical team or doctor know how to procced.

Responsibility

you must be able to properly identify and select tissue samples, fix/prepare them correctly all in a timely manner and maintain a healthy work relationship with the pathologist.

Dehydration/processing

adding ethanol to the tissue it dehydrates it and removes water for further hardening so it can be viewed on a microscope. Xylene is used to remove the ethanol.