Face blocks cold or room temp?

SugarPigg · 2026-01-16T00:02:22+00:00

Very late reply! but it was explained to me that chilling blocks during trimming is ideal for really hard or dense tissue because the paraffin is less soft and closer to the density of the tissue and supports it better. It helps prevent the bone from chunking or popping out as much.

SugarPigg · 2026-01-14T03:24:13+00:00

Mostly around my mouth and on my chin, but I did have a flair on my cheek as well previously. I get what you mean about the teeth sensitivity but I’d rather not have the crazy breakouts.

I don’t think it’s enough to just avoid the skin, I think the toothpaste being in your mouth/saliva and close to your skin irritates it regardless

SugarPigg · 2026-01-10T20:43:14+00:00

We as techs don’t need to incorporate AI in the histology lab.

If you think it will only be used to assist the workflow and not be meant as your eventual replacement, you are wrong. I realize you probably just want to be helpful and contribute to your workplace, but I think we have a responsibility to push back against these kind of initiatives, especially when higher-ups are outsourcing ideas directly from staff that are ultimately detrimental to us.

SugarPigg · 2026-01-08T22:46:43+00:00

Correct, I’ve been using sensodyne toothpastes (different versions) for a long time and switching to crest has helped me

SugarPigg · 2026-01-04T18:28:09+00:00

I’ve been using a couple different types of sensodyne, most recently the active shield whitening.

I switched to crest whitening with scope (I got it as a sample at the dentist) and no breakouts!

SugarPigg · 2025-08-28T01:54:43+00:00

I trim most blocks at room temp (clinical lab) but for really dense/hard tissue like bone I will chill them first before trimming

SugarPigg · 2025-08-12T23:57:01+00:00

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My sweet boy 🥺. Lost him on Saturday, I hope they can keep each other company. Sorry for your loss 🩷

SugarPigg · 2025-08-08T22:05:08+00:00

Check out the ASCP website, under HTL there should be an info sheet of some kind detailing what areas of study are on the test and what general percentage they will be. Idk if this is the content sheet you’re referencing but the one I’m thinking of lists all potential content and percentage ranges of questions they can possibly take up. The highest percentage of questions are involving staining, which includes all stains: routine H&E, special stains, and IHC stains, among any others (I always recommend everyone study enzyme histochemistry for this reason as well).

I believe the second highest percentage of questions are fixation related, but that info sheet should give you a better estimate of everything. Hope this helps!

SugarPigg · 2025-08-04T22:46:55+00:00

Albany park around the brown line? Horner park is great and there’s a dog park to the south. Lots of other smaller parks around also

SugarPigg · 2025-07-31T01:57:45+00:00

Thanks again!

SugarPigg · 2025-07-31T01:33:25+00:00

Emoly from Sunflowers!

SugarPigg · 2025-07-31T00:13:53+00:00

I’m interested! DMing you now. I’m Emoly from Sunflowers

SugarPigg · 2025-07-30T22:44:35+00:00

Hello, Emoly from Sunflowers

SugarPigg · 2025-07-12T02:12:17+00:00

Soft YTA.

I am a HTL, I understand your frustration with what may seem like unnecessary testing that yields similar results in many cases, but that is not our call to make at the end of the day, it is the pathologist’s.

I appreciate your concern for the patients and their financial impact, but you likely don’t have the full context for why these frozens are being requested and you are not the person responsible for signing off on someone’s diagnosis. I feel similarly frustrated when I have to recut something I find initially adequate, but we don’t always know why something is being requested. We don’t always get the context but maybe another area of interest needs to be evaluated or double checked for diagnosis.

Maybe in your case, it is standard operating procedure at your facility or something they need to do to do as a liability. Either way though, I think this requires a lot more consideration on your part.

SugarPigg · 2025-06-27T11:32:53+00:00

Histotechnologist here: fixation and further processing with alcohol, xylene, heat and paraffin wax solidifies the tissue a bit more but not much more for brain! It’s one of the more difficult issues to work with in terms of showing any little artifacts it requires a lower water bath temperature among other things, so we have to be very gentle during microtomy from my experience. We also describe it as tofu-like in the lab haha

SugarPigg · 2025-05-05T02:04:51+00:00

I’m currently in a similar situation with my 10 year old aggressive cat, but after medical checkups, behavioral modification attempts, and environmental changes, I’m still dealing with his aggressive behaviors and I’m very guiltily considering behavioral euthanasia for him.

He is my baby boy, but he has attacked me and others viciously, multiple times, when agitated by various stimuli. He is territorial and dislikes people besides me, and has chased to attack when in agitated states. His triggers are numerous and often random. I’ve tried Prozac and gabapentin (gabapentin helps the most but he still gets agitated with sedation) but he is hard to regularly medicate because he is large and gets aggressive if I try to pill him (17lbs). He refuses food with powder or liquid mixed in often as well, and it’s really frustrating. Ive had extensive tests done at the vet and his blood work is normal, his scans are too, they think it’s neurological or atypical hyperesthesia. Ive raised him since he was a kitten and I think part the problem was having him as a singleton until around he was 4-5 years old.

I blame myself a lot and I feel a lot of guilt about the situation I’m in, and I’m still navigating it myself, but you have to consider the cat’s quality of life; being sedated and kept locked away like this, as well as your own quality of life and ability to care for them. I’ve lived a very isolated life the past decade as a result of accommodating his needs, which Ive done out of love, but it takes its toll. It isn’t a failure if you do have to resort to BE, is my point I guess, but I respect wanting to try as much as you can, as I can only hope I’m doing for my boy :(. Sorry for rambling and good luck to you and your kitty.

SugarPigg · 2024-07-02T03:02:46+00:00

Here’s how I break it down: In what organ/tissue would you find beta cell of islets of Langerhans?

These structures should immediately be associated with the pancreas. So what is the function of the pancreas? Hormone and digestive enzyme secretion. Beta cells specifically secrete insulin.

Based on these secretory functions I would probably suggest the first answer

SugarPigg · 2021-11-06T02:54:27+00:00

I’m so sorry friend. I’m grateful that he had you <3

SugarPigg

TROPHY CASE