Artifacts in Histopathology – A Review

Abstract

Histopathological examination is considered to be the gold standard technique for making a definitive
diagnosis of various human body lesions. The handling of tissue specimens consists of extensive procedures
from the stage of surgical removal to the microscopic parts stained and placed. Owing to defective procedures,
defects are normal in the tissue parts. These defects are known as artefacts. In histopathology artefacts
may cause serious errors and misdiagnosis. The precision of the histopathological diagnosis is based on
removing or reducing the artifacts in histopathological section.This article discusses the common artefacts
found during slide analysis alongside the remedial steps that can be performed to distinguish between an
artifacts and the constituent tissue.