A small biopsy has microchatter around the tissue edges and the tissue appears hard. What caused this and how can it be prevented?

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Multiple Choice

A small biopsy has microchatter around the tissue edges and the tissue appears hard. What caused this and how can it be prevented?

Over-dehydration makes tissue shrink and become hard, so edges can crack or chatter during sectioning. Small biopsies are especially prone because they lose water quickly in the dehydrants, so the standard processing time can overexpose them. The best way to prevent this is to tailor processing for small specimens—process them separately and shorten their time in dehydrants to avoid over-drying. This reduces shrinkage and brittleness, keeping edges intact and producing a better-finished block for sectioning. Under-dehydration would leave water in the tissue and hinder embedding; over-clearing or staining artifacts don’t typically produce this specific edge chatter and hard texture.

Over-dehydration makes tissue shrink and become hard, so edges can crack or chatter during sectioning. Small biopsies are especially prone because they lose water quickly in the dehydrants, so the standard processing time can overexpose them. The best way to prevent this is to tailor processing for small specimens—process them separately and shorten their time in dehydrants to avoid over-drying. This reduces shrinkage and brittleness, keeping edges intact and producing a better-finished block for sectioning. Under-dehydration would leave water in the tissue and hinder embedding; over-clearing or staining artifacts don’t typically produce this specific edge chatter and hard texture.

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