Histology artifacts

Histology artifacts are common.

Cautery artifact

Main article: Cautery artifact

Tissue fold

• Darker well demarcated line with apparent disruption of the architecture.

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  Tissue fold (center of image) in basal cell hyperplasia of the prostate.

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  Extensive tissue folding in a SSA.

Chatter artifact

• Fine parallel lines.

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  Chatter artifact in tubular adenoma.

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  Chatter artifact in complex endometrial hyperplasia.

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  Chatter artifact in TILs.

Tissue tearing

• Usually due to something intrinsic to the tissue that is hard, e.g. calcium.

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  Tearing due to a calcification.

Sponge artifact

• Angulated pieces of tissue with punched-out missing fragments.
• May result in little squares of tissue arranged in a regular pattern.

Bubble artifact

Large

• Large bubbles of air under the cover slip.

Coverslip artifact

Features:

• Black-grey lines - takes on the outline of the tissue beneath it.
• Above the plane-of-focus of the tissue - key feature.

Image:

• Coverlip artifact (statvetlab.com).

See also

• Tissue loss.
• Tissue floater.
• Quality.

External links

• Artifacts quiz (ihcworld.com).