The histopathologic reliability of tissue taken from cadavers within the gross anatomy laboratory

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the histopathologic reliability of embalmed cadaveric tissue taken from the gross anatomy laboratory. Tissue samples from hearts, livers, lungs, and kidneys were collected after the medical students' dissection course was completed. All of the cadavers were embalmed in a formalin-based fixative solution. The tissue was processed, embedded in paraffin, sectioned at six micrometers, and stained with H&E. The microscope slides were evaluated by a board certified pathologist to determine whether the cellular components of the tissues were preserved at a high enough quality to allow for histopathologic diagnosis. There was a statistically significant relationship between ratings and organ groups. Across all organs, there was a smaller proportion of "poor" ratings. The lung group had the highest percentage of "poor" ratings (23.1%). The heart group had the least "poor" ratings (0.0%). The largest percentage of "satisfactory" ratings were in the lung group (52.8%), and the heart group contained the highest percentage of "good" ratings (58.5%) The lung group had the lowest percentage of "good" ratings (24.2%). These results indicate that heart tissue is more reliable than lung, kidney, or liver tissue when utilizing tissue from the gross anatomy laboratory for research and/or educational purposes. This information advises educators and researchers about the quality and histopathologic reliability of tissue samples obtained from the gross anatomy laboratory. Anat Sci Educ 11: 207-214. © 2017 American Association of Anatomists.

Phenoxyethanol‐Based Embalming for Anatomy Teaching: An 18 Years' Experience with Crosado Embalming at the University of Otago in New Zealand

“…Consequently, perceived learning outcomes from PE‐embalmed tissues on the gross anatomical and histological scale seem to make this a suitable and versatile technique. It could further be shown that a significant relation appears to exist for PE‐embalmed tissues regarding the preservation quality between organ groups, in line with the findings of Rae et al (2018).…”

Histologic reliability of tissues from embalmed cadavers: Can they be useful in medical education?

“…For evaluating the slides, the criteria were adapted from a previous study. [ 8 ] In brief, the cells and extracellular matrix had to (a) be clearly identified at low magnification and when using 200 and 400 objective magnifications, (b) have a sharp definition of cell size and nuclei and (c) have sharp boundaries with adjacent connective tissues.…”

“…By integrating pathology with anatomy, it has been shown that students were more able to identify, retain and integrate their understanding of pathology into their discussions and medical reasoning. [ 8 ] However, this opportunity has been restricted to gross pathological findings without exploring the histology of these findings. Integration of pathology has been limited by students' lack of technical know-how with regard to preparing and processing tissue samples as well as by the lack of involvement of pathologists with dissection experience.…”

“…Reliability of histological specimens from embalmed tissue has shown some promise in recent literature, with heart tissue showing the highest preservation and lung tissue showing the lowest. [ 6 8 ] However, some doubts remain over their validity because of previous contradicting literature showing poor preservation and embalmment-related artifacts. [ 8 ] To the best of our knowledge, there is no study conducted to explore the histological quality of several organs, such as thyroid, bone, skin or skeletal muscle, from cadavers.…”

“…[ 6 8 ] However, some doubts remain over their validity because of previous contradicting literature showing poor preservation and embalmment-related artifacts. [ 8 ] To the best of our knowledge, there is no study conducted to explore the histological quality of several organs, such as thyroid, bone, skin or skeletal muscle, from cadavers. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the histological samples of these organs from embalmed cadavers to provide an initial assessment regarding their reliability, and thus highlight their potential in medical education.…”