Tissue diagnosis in lymphomas

Abstract

An accurate histological diagnosis is sometimes difficult to achieve in the lymphoma patient. This problem is accentuated by incorrect choice of nodes for biopsy or mishandling of tissues, either at surgery or during the fixative process. The most important of these is proper fixation. Tissues may be reembedded, recut and restained, but nothing can resurrect poorly fixed tissues. Encapsulated lymphoreticular organs resist the penetration of fixatives. Therefore, if lymph nodes or spleen are placed whole in the fixative, only the peripheral 2 mm to 3 mm will be fixed, while all the remainder will have undergone autolysis. In the microscopic slide prepared from such tissues, the readable porti..