Enhancement Questions
1. Name the causes of difficulty in ribbon formation.
Enumerated here are the causes of difficulty in ribbon formation, and the remedies or
ways to fix it.
A. Knife is dull = Hone and strop
B. Horizontal surface of the block is not parallel to the knife = Re-adjust and
re-orient the block
C. Knife is tilted too much = Reduce the tilt
D. Paraffin wax is too hard = Coat horizontal edges of the block with wax of lower
melting point
E. Sections are too thick = Re-adjust thickness of the section
F. Surfaces and edges of the block are not parallel = Re-trim the block
2. Explain why at times sections are rolled.
The following are the general reasons on why tissue sections are rolled and the remedy/things to
do in order to fix it.
A. Knife is blunt = Sharpen the knife
B. Knife is dirty = Clean the knife edge
C. Tilt of knife is too great = Reduce the tilt
References:
Histopathologic Techniques by Gregorio’s
1. Name the causes of difficulty in ribbon formation.
Enumerated here are the causes of difficulty in ribbon formation, and the remedies or
ways to fix it.
A. Knife is dull = Hone and strop
B. Horizontal surface of the block is not parallel to the knife = Re-adjust and
re-orient the block
C. Knife is tilted too much = Reduce the tilt
D. Paraffin wax is too hard = Coat horizontal edges of the block with wax of lower
melting point
E. Sections are too thick = Re-adjust thickness of the section
F. Surfaces and edges of the block are not parallel = Re-trim the block
2. Explain why at times sections are rolled.
The following are the general reasons on why tissue sections are rolled and the remedy/things to
do in order to fix it.
A. Knife is blunt = Sharpen the knife
B. Knife is dirty = Clean the knife edge
C. Tilt of knife is too great = Reduce the tilt
References:
Histopathologic Techniques by Gregorio’s
