soft tissue lesions

Question 1

why take a biopsy

Answer 1

• sample of tissue for histopathological analysis
• confirm or establish a diagnosis
• determine prognosis

Question 2

advantages of aspiration samples

Answer 2

• avoids contaimination by commensal oral bacteria
• protects anaerobic species
• can be used for cystic lesions

Question 3

when is fine needle aspiration used

Answer 3

aspiration of cells from solid lesions e.g neck swellings or salivary gland lesions

Question 4

excisional biospy

Answer 4

type of surgical biopsy
- removal of all clinically abnormal tissue - usually fairly confident of provisional diagnosis (fibrous overgrowth, mucocele)
- benign and discrete lesions

Question 5

incisional biopsy

Answer 5

• representative tissue sample of a lesion
• larger lesions of uncertain diagnosis e.g carcinoma, OLP, lichen planus

Question 6

punch biopsy

Answer 6

type of incisional biopsy
hollow trephine with a 4,6 or 8mm diameter
removes core of tissue with minimal damage
little or no stitches required

Question 7

what areas should be avoided when taking a biopsy

Answer 7

tip of tongue
major salivary ducts
large blood vessels

Question 8

what should biopsy samples be placed in

Answer 8

10% formalin

Question 9

H and E staining

Answer 9

haematoxylin and eosin
haematoxylin = basic, dyes acidic structures purple e.g DNA in nucleus
Eosin = acidic, dyes basic structures pink e.g cytoplasm