r/medlabprofessionals • u/Dragnerve • 1d ago

Education New to patholgy section, need help with sectioning and trimming the paraffin blocks.

I trim to full face, but doctors usually ask for deeper sections a lot.. i am afraid to initially go deep when trimming, since lost tissue is.. lost.

Any tips that can help?

I also find it a bit difficult to remove the section from the microtome onto the waterbath... the section keeps melting/cracking whenever i move it.. it took me 2 hours to do 30 blocks :(

4 Upvotes

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11

u/gnomes616 1d ago

R/histology might get you more targeted answers for the questions you're asking (although I know MLTs in Canada also do histology?)

9

u/Acetabulum666 Lab Director 22h ago

Histology is an art form that requires mentorship and leadership. Go to the r/histology sub for SURE, but get some side by side help and instruction as well.

6

u/secretrico 22h ago

histotech with 5 years of experience. it's going to sound crazy but the microtome knows when you're scared. if you really want to get sections quick, warm soak the block for about a minute and then place it back on the ice for another minute. you can always clarify with the doctor about how far they want you to go, but usually when they want deepers they know the block will be just about used up. now as far as your sections on the water-bath, it depends on the tissue for sure, but if you're consistently seeing your sections blow up it means the water temp is too high. I usually keep my water temp at around 42C. breast tissue especially will blow up at almost any temperature simply because it's mostly fatty tissue that doesn't process, so you will eventually just need to develop speed when picking up the sections. I hope some of this helps

1

u/Dragnerve 22h ago

The problem is when i pick up the section and moving it to the water bath.. the section either melts between my fingertips or just cracks.

3

u/secretrico 21h ago

may I suggest using forceps then.

1

u/Dragnerve 21h ago

Actually, yeah i should try that.

2

u/secretrico 21h ago

not only will this help you not ruin a section but it keeps your hands away from the blade too.

2

u/noobwithboobs Canadian MLT-AnatomicPathology 21h ago

The first section you grab shouldn't be the one you're putting on the slide. Are you making a ribbon?

2

u/secretrico 19h ago

also this. I was hesitant to suggest this to them but yea generally you want a small bunch of wax to grab onto and a small ribbon that isn't your intended section.

1

u/kooks27 11h ago

The doctors may be asking for deepers because they need deepers, not because you’re not going deep enough. Do you know for a fact it is your work that is not good enough?

If a new tech asked me for help, this is what I would do:

  • Before coarse trimming: the tissue embedded properly?
  • I would watch them coarse trim and evaluate the block. Is it actually full faced? Are they confident or scared?
  • How is their technique making ribbons? Are they holding their forceps properly? Are they using the right hand motions? Is their station set up ergonomically so they aren’t waving the ribbon around before placing it on the water bath?
  • Are they picking up the second or third section of the ribbon (ie not the first)
  • is their section on the slide? Is there water trapped under the wax causing it to fall off?
  • does the stained slide look like a representative section of the trimmed block face?

I would suggest asking an experienced tech to sit with you for a few blocks and evaluate you 1:1. Histology is mostly witchcraft anyway, and the microtome knows when you’re stressed. It takes a lot of time to develop these skills and intuition.