Biopsic Sampling (cancer) comprehensive sampling and sample preparation

Virtually all forms of organ injury involve structural alterations in cells and tissues. The practice of pathology is devoted to investigating and diagnosing diseases by studying these morphologic changes.1 This can be achieved by two different but complementary approaches. Histopathology involves both the macroscopic and light microscopic examination of tissues, whose architecture is retained; cytopathology specimens are composed of cells that are dissociated from their surrounding tissues without preserving the histologic architecture. Histopathology is usually the primary mode for tumor diagnosis, which is supplemented with prognostic information by tumor grading and staging.1 This section examines the sampling issues related to istopathology, and the following section focuses on cytopathology.