Histotechnology-I
Subject Overview
Histotechnology-I introduces tissue processing for histopathology from specimen collection through to the finished stained slide — fixation and fixatives, decalcification, embedding and dehydration, section cutting and microtome technique, and staining theory and the routine Haematoxylin and Eosin and PTAH staining procedures. A 4-credit elective theory paper.
Unit-wise Syllabus
4 units — click WhatsApp below to get the full notes for each
Unit 1: Specimen collection and fixation
Introduction to histotechnology, care and maintenance of laboratory equipment, safety measures, routine methods of tissue examination, collection and transportation of specimens, basic concepts of fixation, simple/compound/special fixatives
Unit 2: Decalcification and tissue processing
Criteria of a good decalcification agent, decalcification technique and workflow, types of decalcifying fluids (organic/inorganic acid, chelating agents, ion-exchange resins, electrophoretic decalcification); embedding media, dehydration, clearing and infiltration, manual and automatic tissue processors
Unit 3: Section cutting
Equipment for sectioning, microtome knives and sharpening (honing, stropping), types of microtome, freezing microtome and cryostats, faults in paraffin section cutting and remedies, mounting sections to glass slides
Unit 4: Staining theory and routine procedures
Theory of staining, classification of dyes and dye chemistry, mordants and accentuators, metachromasy, use of controls, stain and buffer preparation, mountants, nuclear and cytoplasmic stains, manual and automatic staining, Haematoxylin and Eosin staining, Mallory's Phosphotungstic Acid Haematoxylin (PTAH)