Histology is the microscopic study of tissues—their formation, structure and function. Related biosciences include: cytology and cell biology, which are at a level below tissues, studying cells; anatomy, which is at a level above tissues, studying organs; and morphology, which studies entire organisms.

The art of histology involves the selection of the stain that will best highlight the feature of interest. Many modern stains are based on the use of an antibody to the chemical of interest.

In the 19th Century, histology was an academic discipline in its own right. The 1906 Nobel prize in medicine was awarded to two histologists, Camilo Golgi and Santiogo Ramon y Cajal. They had dueling interpretations of the neural structure of the brain based in differing interpretations of the same images.

Contents

1 Histological Artifacts 2 References 3 See also 4 External links

Histological Artifacts

An artifact in this context refers to a structure or feature of the sample under study that is introduced by the manipulation required to prepare or stain it (1). There are many types of artifacts that can occur, and troubleshooting and minimizing artifacts is a major part of the discipline. Following is a listing of certain common artifacts and brief statements about each.

• metachromasia: When dyes are used in previously described procedures, there is an expectation that certain structures will appear with predictable colors. The simple existence of coloration with a dye or the particular shade achieved contributes to the identification of structures. Metachromasia refers to the production of unexpected or distorted hues (1). Methylation of tissue samples is one method of reducing the incidence of this artifact (2).
• basophilia: When using basic dyes, a particular type of aberrant stippling of immature erythrocytes is referred to as basophilia (1). Methylation of tissue samples is one method of reducing the incidence of this artifact (2).

References

1. Merck Source (2002). Dorland's Medical Dictionary (http://www.mercksource.com/pp/us/cns/cns_hl_dorlands.jspzQzpgzEzzSzppdocszSzuszSzcommonzSzdorlandszSzdorlandzSzdmd_a-b_00zPzhtm). Retrieved 2005-01-26.

2. Stedman's Medical Dictionaries (2005). Stedman's Online Medical Dictionary (http://stedmans.com/). Retrieved 2005-01-26.

See also

• Important publications in histology
• immunochemical detection of protein ubiquitination

External links

• Histoweb (http://www.kumc.edu/instruction/medicine/anatomy/histoweb)

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