Cell Block 1

Question 1

Types of Cell Block

Answer 1

Plasma Thrombin
Histo gel
Agar method

Question 2

Enmesh the cellular materials in a clot

Answer 2

Plasma Thrombin

Question 3

Plasma Thrombin procedure

Answer 3

1. Fluid aliquot
centrifuge
2. sediment
3. decant
4. pipette any remaining fluid
5. add plasma + thrombin
6. refrigerate
7. put into cassette (lined with tissue paper)
8. cell block

Question 4

concentrated sediment is supported by the agar

Answer 4

Agar Method

Question 5

more time consuming

Answer 5

Agar Method

Question 6

At what temperature does agar solidifies

Answer 6

below 50 C

Question 7

creates excellent block (various cells distributed in a layers for optimal visualization)

Answer 7

Agar Method

Question 8

procedures for agar method

Answer 8

1. effusion sample
centrifuge
2. sediment
3. decant supernatant
4. remove excess supernatant
5. add molten agar to sediment 
6. refrigerate to get solid button
7. 10% formalin
8. paraffin block

Question 9

used for cytology specimens with a predominance of individually scattered cells

Answer 9

histo gel method

Question 10

involves steps to concentrate the cells of interest along the plane parallel to the cutting surface of the cell block

Answer 10

histo gel method

Question 11

example of histo gel method

Answer 11

cell block preparations of cervical ThinPreps

Question 12

less cellular and may contain only scattered individual abnormal cells

Answer 12

cell block preparations of cervical ThinPreps

histo gel method

Question 13

histo gel procedure

Answer 13

1. fluid sample
   centrifuge
2. sediment form
3. decant supernatant
4. dry excess supernatant over filter paper
5. melt HistoGel according to manufacturer’s instruction
6. add a few drops of molten HistoGel
7. gently stir with wooden applicator stick or vortex to permit mixing of HistoGel with the sediment
8. cool by refrigerating sediment and HistoGel mixture for 5-10 minutes or until solid
9. transfer the solidified HistoGel to tissue processing cassette with tissue paper to wrap and fix in 10% formalin
10. process in paraffin embedding

Question 14

advantage of cell block

Answer 14

1. storage of cell blocks are easily compared to unstained smear
2. reproducible
3. simple
4. readily available in routine lab
5. concentrated in small area of slide
6. slides more readily interpretable by histopathologist
7. availability of cell blocks facilitates more section

Question 15

disadvantages of cell block

Answer 15

1. sparse cellularity
2. time consuming (compared to routine smears)
3. distortion artifacts