Introduction

Question 1

what is histopathology

Answer 1

studying tissues affected by disease

Question 2

what is cytopathology

Answer 2

studying disaggregated cells

Question 3

give example of how histological samples can be taken

Answer 3

biopsies, skin lesions, endoscopic biopsies

Question 4

how can cells be taken for cytological samples

Answer 4

collect cells from urine and sputum, use needles to get cells from breast, thyroid and salivary glands

Question 5

why is histology often therapeutic as well of diagnostic

Answer 5

you can cut out whole pieces of cancerous tissue

Question 6

true of false: cytology is better for immunohistochemical molecular testing

Answer 6

false

Question 7

what is cytology used for

Answer 7

to confirm the presence or absence of a cancer or dysplasia not to diagnose it

Question 8

true of false: cytology is non or minimally invasive and safe

Answer 8

true

Question 9

true or false cytology is faster and cheaper

Answer 9

true

Question 10

what does metastasis means

Answer 10

cancer that has spread from another site

Question 11

what is autolysis

Answer 11

self digestion of tissue which occurs when the blood supply is cut off

Question 12

how can you block autolysis

Answer 12

fixatives

Question 13

what do fixatives do

Answer 13

inactivate enzymes, denature proteins, prevent bacterial growth and harden tissue

Question 14

what is used to fix cells

Answer 14

formalin

Question 15

what must be done in order to thinly slice tissue samples

Answer 15

the tissue must be surrounded and impregnated with paraffin wax

Question 16

what must happen before a tissue is impregnated with paraffin wax

Answer 16

water must be removed from the tissue using alcohol in a vacuum

Question 17

when dehydrating cells what is the alcohol replaced with

Answer 17

xylene

Question 18

in what machine does the embedding of tissue samples into paraffin wax occur in

Answer 18

processors

Question 19

what happens when the tissue is taken out of a processor

Answer 19

it is put into a metal block which is filled with molten paraffin wax

Question 20

what machine cuts the tissue into very small slices

Answer 20

microtome

Question 21

how thin are the slices cut by microtome

Answer 21

3-4microns

Question 22

what are tissues stained with

Answer 22

haematoxylin and eosin

Question 23

what part of the cell does haematoxylin stain

Answer 23

the nuclei purple

Question 24

what part of the cell does eosin stain

Answer 24

the cytoplasm and connective tissue pink

Question 25

how is the slice of tissue preserved after staining `

Answer 25

attaching a coverslip on the top

Question 26

what is immunohistochemistry

Answer 26

demonstration of substance on cells by labelling them with specific antibodies

Question 27

in immunohistochemistry what is the antibody usually joined to

Answer 27

an enzyme such as peroxidase which catalyses a colour change

Question 28

what are cytokeratins

Answer 28

fibrous proteins found in epithelia

Question 29

what are frozen sections

Answer 29

method of hardening tissue quickly

Question 30

how long does it take to prepare a slide by frozen section

Answer 30

10 minutes

Question 31

when are frozen sections used

Answer 31

during an operation

Question 32

what machine is used in frozen sections

Answer 32

cryostat