A histologic section may not include all of the tissue in a block. This can result in a sampling error which can lead to a failure to diagnose.
Detection: The outline of tissue in the paraffin block does not match the outline of tissue in the section.
Reasons for an incomplete section:
(1) failure to embed the tissue completely flat
(2) not cutting deep enough into the block
A related problem can occur if the block is cut too deeply and the tissue is exhausted.
This problem can be missed if a stained section is not routinely compared with the paraffin block.
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Specialty: Clinical Laboratory
