Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Category B specimen (UN3373)
- The transport label used for ordinary patient samples, which sets out how they must be packed so they cannot leak.
- COSHH
- The rules covering work with substances hazardous to health, such as the preservative used for specimens.
- Crush artefact
- Damage to tissue caused by squeezing it with instruments, which can make it impossible to examine properly.
- Discordance
- When the laboratory result does not match what the clinician expected.
- Duty of candour
- The legal duty to tell a patient promptly when something has gone wrong, apologise, and explain what will be done.
- Fixative / formalin
- The liquid a specimen is placed in to preserve it on the way to the laboratory.
- Histopathology
- Examination of tissue under a microscope to identify disease.
- Human Tissue Act 2004
- The law governing how human tissue may be stored, used and disposed of.
- Incomplete excision
- The microscope shows the lesion reaching the edge of what was removed.
- Manifest
- The signed list of specimens handed to a courier, proving what was collected and when.
- Orientation suture
- A stitch marking a known point on a specimen so the laboratory can say which edge is which.
- Reconciliation
- Checking a list against reality, here to confirm every specimen sent has a result.
- Relevant material
- The legal term for tissue containing human cells, covered by the Human Tissue Act.
- Specimen log
- The register of every specimen taken, tracked until the patient has been told the result.