Time is of the essence in any laboratory, but even more so when sample turn-around time and patient care is critical. Striking a balance between the time required to optimally process tissue and the turn-around time preferred by pathologists or clinicians is an ongoing effort in any histology laboratory. If any step of tissue processing is rushed, subsequent processing steps may fail and tissue will be under-processed and possibly undiagnosable. Unfortunately, sometimes turnaround time becomes the main focus and the rest of the variables must fit into the time constraints imposed. The envelope is continuously pushed to process a wide variety of tissue samples in the least amount of time required for satisfactory results, rather than optimal outcomes.
