Useful Tips for Taking Photographs of Gross Specimens

Listed below are some useful tips for taking photographs of gross specimens that show the lesion at its best advantage:

• Photograph an intact specimen prior to fixation and cutting the external surface.
• Then photograph cut surfaces to show specimen structural architecture and associated relations to any evident pathologic features.
• Orient the specimen (or specimen slices) in an anatomically appropriate position so that it will fill the display frame (zoom in as far as possible) without cutting off the edges.
• Photograph each slice individually using a macro lens at low and high magnification to demonstrate gross pathology. Take photographs as many as needed, with or without a label and/or ruler.
• Make sure the background surface of the “cutting board” is wiped clean of blood, bile, ink, or other marks using a disinfectant cleaner. For gross photographs, a smooth and washable, neutral background—white, blue, or black, is preferable.
• Make sure the specimen surface is not obscured with ink or tissue fragments. If it is, please rinse off the specimen under running water or dab off the marks with a wet gauze or brush.
• Avoid including hands in the photograph. Use Q-tips, wooden rods, hemostats, probes, or forceps if something needs to be held and to demonstrate a lesion of interest.
• A ruler/label with the accession number (surgical pathology or autopsy numbers) is always included.
• Do not allow a ruler to touch and overlap (or place diagonally) the specimen, and keep it clean. Rulers are essential when reference to size in the metric system is important (tumor staging).
• The ruler and the area of interest should be in the same plane of focus. Use cassettes or improvised means to elevate the ruler to the appropriate height at the same plane.
• After taking the photo, evaluate the quality of the image of the specimen.
• Constantly take photographs according to the list of surgical cases that require gross pictures.
• Always photograph the mapping of bone resection lesions, hepatoblastomas, and kidney for Wilms tumors. The technique of gross photography specimen mapping for tumor resections was developed for quantitative analysis of the percentage of tumor necrosis following neoadjuvant chemotherapy. A central slab of the tumor should be mapped and submitted for histologic examination.