Macroscopic photographs of the left femoral segmental resection specimen for osteosarcoma.
A. A view of the intact specimen.
B. The serial sections of the specimen.
C. A map of the central slab of the bone resection for cassettes allocation.
Sections are taken to show the tumor, its relationship to adjacent normal bone, invasion of contiguous structures (e.g., intramedullary space, cortical bone, soft tissue), and margins. The location of sections taken is indicated on a diagram of the specimen. All areas of different radiologic appearance are sampled and correlated with the radiograph. For osteosarcomas, the extent of post-chemotherapy tumor necrosis is important to determine. An entire cross-section of the central slab is mapped out and submitted for histologic examination.
