Flashcards in Pathology 1 - Intro Deck (11):
1
Define 'disease'
A pathological condition of a body part, organ or system characterised by an identifiable group of signs/symptoms
2
What is autolysis?
Self-digestion of tissues that occurs when the blood supply is cut off
3
What are fixatives?
Chemicals which inactivate tissue enzymes and denature proteins, prevent bacterial growth and harden tissue
4
What is the most commonly used fixative?
Formalin (formaldehyde in water)
5
How are the tissue samples stored while they are fixed?
They are put in 'cassettes' which have holes in, then placed in racks in formalin
6
What is the tissue embedded in so that thin sections can be cut?
It is embedded in paraffin wax
7
How is paraffin wax inserted inside the cells?
- Dehydration using alcohol in a vacuum so water is drawn out of the cells
- replace alcohol with xylene which mixes with wax
- replace xylene with molten paraffin wax
8
What is used to cut very thin sections of tissue?
A microtome
9
What is the tissue usually stained with?
H&E
10
Give some examples of things that can be identified using immunohistochemistry
- Actin
- Cadherins
- Hormone receptors
- Her2 receptor
- Microorganisms
11