Specimens

Question 1

• Needle Aspiration - ___________ .
• Incisional Biopsy - ___________ .
• Excisional Biopsy - ___________ .

Answer 1

A fine gauge needle and syringe are used to aspirate the sample.

A small portion of tissue is incised and sent for examination.

An entire section of tissue is sent for examination.

Question 2

• Biopsy
• Frozen section
• Cytology
• Routine specimen
• Culture

Answer 2

-specimens that will be microscopically studied by the pathologist and may undergo histologic or cytologic analysis

– tissue is frozen and thinly sliced into sections to be examined under a microscope by the pathologist

• specimens obtained for studying cell biology
• specimens that do not require immediate processing by the pathologist
• specimens of tissue or fluid suspected of being infected

Question 3

identifying and labeling specimens

Answer 3

• The specimen is always identified by the surgeon first, then passed off the surgical field to the CIRCULATING NURSE
• A laboratory or pathology requisition form must be filled out for the specimen
• Specimen description to include type and site (also laterality if appropriate)
• Patient name and unique identifier (medical record number)
• Date and time of collection
• Diagnosis
• Surgeons name

Question 4

Organizations provide guidance related to surgical tissue banking include:
• AORN
• AATB
• FDA

Answer 4

• AORN has guidelines for autologous tissue management, that is, tissue that is removed from a patient for replantation (same site e.g. avulsed tooth) or auto-transplantation (different site e.g. skin graft) on or in the same patient.
• The American Association of Tissue Banks
• US Food and Drug Administration

Question 5

Documentation of the intraoperative surgical specimen is of vital importance. Information pertaining to specimens that is required on the perioperative record generally consists of:

Answer 5

• Specimen identification in the perioperative record (including any additional information pertinent to the specimen such as location of suture tags). No abbreviations.
• Pathology requisition
• Date and time of specimen collection with notation of markers or tags such as clips or sutures. Also include statement of what they represent.