This course will focus on the technical process of producing human tissue blocks embedded in paraffin wax. Other embedding techniques using various media, such as gelatin, ester wax, polyethylene glycol, and epoxy resin, are also used in histological methods. However, this course will discuss embedding human tissue samples in molten or melted paraffin wax. This is the most commonly utilized method for routine tissue embedding and is the most used in nearly all hospital histopathology laboratories for processing human tissue samples for diagnostic interpretation.
In the order of events (chronology) of the total histology process, paraffin embedding occurs following tissue processing and before and in preparation for microtomy. For proficiency in paraffin embedding, the histologist needs:
- An understanding of basic anatomy for use in tissue type orientation
- Knowledge of basic tissue sampling methods used in gross dissection
- To develop manual dexterity and spatial reasoning to orient the specimen in the tissue block for microtomy correctly
This course will introduce and review essential background information for the correct embedding technique. It will also discuss guidelines for orienting common histology specimens. Mastery of this information facilitates the practice and application of these concepts during execution, increasing the histologist's technical proficiency at paraffin embedding in the histology laboratory.
