Histological technique in routine histopathology. An opinion

"Routine technique" means fixation in aqueous formaldehyde, embedding in paraffin, and staining with hematoxylin and eosin. A wide variety of procedure are included within this frame, some resulting in excellent preparations, others, although sometimes presented in scientific publications, giving slides which are virtually useless for the purpose of differential diagnostic evaluation. All patients, whether suffering from as yet unclassified but surely most interesting conditions or merely presenting with lesions of ordinary lethal disease, should benefit from investigations conducted at the highest technical level at disposal. Proper fixation, including postfixation; dehydration and embedding ensuing minimal distortion; and staining providing maximum differentiation of tissue components, are essential for the solution of problems posed by modern histopathological investigations. Some points relevant to this conception are discussed.