AP Specimen Handling Instructions for Processing

Specimens for surgical pathology/histology and cytology

This informational document is intended to provide brief guidelines for clinical laboratory staff on how to handle and store anatomic pathology specimens, including specimens for surgical pathology/histology and cytology.

Storage Conditions

Note the following specimen storage conditions independent of storage conditions upon receipt

SPECIMEN STORAGE CONDITION

Fresh tissue/fluids
(not received in fixative)

Shared specimens: Aliquots for Lab Medicine (Sunquest) testing should be performed PRIOR to storage for Pathology. Store at 4°C after splitting.

Cytogenetics/FISH: Store at Room Temp, see Chromosome Analysis, SCCA [SCHRAN] for details.

Surgical Pathology/Histology/Cytology: Store at Room Temp or 4°C
Formalin Fixative Store at Room Temp or 4°C
Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded Tissue (FFPE), Cassettes Store at Room Temp or 4°C
CytoLyt Cup, ThinPrep Vial, (Cytology fixative) Store at Room Temp or 4°C
Thyroseq vial (Cytology) Store at 4°C
RPMI Store at 4°C
Kidney stones for analysis Store at Room Temp or 4°C. See Kidney Stone Analysis (Sendout) [RSTONE] for details.
Slides Store at Room Temp or 4°C

Anatomic Pathology Tests

Cytology/HPV

TEST NAME EPIC ORDER LAB TESTING LOCATION
Cytopathology Non-Gyn NONGYN Cytology (HMC)
Cervical (and Vaginal) Cancer Screening (aka Pap) LAB010 Cytology/HPV (HMC)
Pap Only LAB011 Cytology (HMC)
Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) LAB012 HPV (HMC)
HPV Reflex to Pap LAB007 Cytology/HPV (HMC)
Pap Reflex to HPV LAB006 Cytology/HPV (HMC)
Thyroseq Testing (Send Out to CBL Path) n/a Cytology (HMC)
Bile Duct FISH Testing (Send Out to ARUP) n/a Cytology (HMC)
Amyloid Testing NONGYN Cytology (HMC)

Cytogenetics and Genomics Laboratories

TEST NAME EPIC ORDER LAB TESTING LOCATION
FISH, Constitutional FISHCONST2 Cytogenetics/FISH Lab (UWMC)
FISH, Neoplasia LAB015 Cytogenetics/FISH Lab (UWMC)
Grow Cells LABGROWCELLS Cytogenetics/FISH Lab (UWMC)
Karyotype, Constitutional LAB016 Cytogenetics/FISH Lab (UWMC)
Karyotype, Neoplasia KARYONEOP Cytogenetics/FISH Lab (UWMC)

IHC

TEST NAME LAB TESTING LOCATION
IHC changes Histology/IHC (UWMC-ML, HMC)
MSI by IHC Histology/IHC (UWMC-ML, HMC)

Surgical Pathology

TEST NAME EPIC ORDER LAB TESTING LOCATION
Pathology, Surgical SURG Gross Room (UWMC-ML, HMC)

Pathology Directory

For urgent specimen questions after hours, please page the LabMed Resident On-Call

AP Lab Section Phone Location Operating Hours
Front Office, UWMC 598-6400 UWMC BB220 M-F 8am-5pm
Front Office, HMC 744-3145 HMC NJ244 M-F 8am-5pm
Autopsy Suite 598-4205 UWMC BB250 M-F 9am-3pm
Cytogenetics/FISH Lab 598-4488 UWMC NW125 M-F 8:30am-5pm, Sat-Sun 10am-2pm
Cytology Processing Lab 744-4279 HMC NJ272 M-F 8am-5pm
Electron Microscopy (EM) Lab 598-6411 UWMC BB222 M-F 7am-4:30pm
Histology, UWMC 598-4028 UWMC NW211 M-F 24hr
Histology, HMC 744-3146 HMC NJ270 M-F 5am-5pm
HPV Lab 744-3911 HMC NJ269 M-F 6:30am-3:30pm
Slide Room, UWMC 598-7324 UWMC NW014 M-F 8am-5pm
Slide Room, HMC 744-4931 HMC NJ247 M-F 8am-4:30pm
SurgPath Gross Room, HMC 744-4278 HMC NJ274 M-F 8:30am-5pm
SurgPath Gross Room, UWMC-ML 598-4286 UWMC EC239 M-F 6:30am-8pm
SurgPath Gross Room, UWMC-NW 668-1779 NW A257 M-F 8am-5pm

Last updated 2023-11-17T19:09:08.535781+00:00