Agar embedding of curetted biopsy specimens for histopathologic examination

Fragmented, small curettings are embedded in 3% bacterial agar at the time of tissue biopsy. These small tissue specimens are trapped within the agar and tissue loss is minimized. This method eliminates the additional steps of spinning the fragments (that are usually suspended in formaldehyde) or filtering the contents. The agar method concentrates the tissue specimen and keeps the tissue better oriented. The end result is preservation of all fragments submitted with some retention of tissue specimen orientation. Ease of laboratory preparation is another substantial benefit.