CAMLPR Histology Practice Test

Recognizing artifacts from bone particles in tissue sections. Debris and splinters of bone seen in a stained slide most often come from bone dust generated during sectioning of bone-containing tissue. As the microtome blade cuts through mineralized bone, tiny bone fragments and powder can be carried into the section and remain embedded in the paraffin block, then stain along with the tissue. This is more specific than broad processing artifacts or issues like air bubbles, and it wouldn’t be explained by contaminated embedding medium unless those contaminants were bone-like particles. To prevent this, samples containing bone should be properly decalcified and cleaned of obvious bone fragments before embedding, and the cutting equipment should be checked for bone dust accumulation.