HTL Histopathology & Diagnostic Techniques 3

Question 1

Which fixative is considered the gold standard for routine surgical pathology and immunohistochemistry?

Accepted Answer

10% neutral buffered formalin

Answer

10% neutral buffered formalin (NBF) provides excellent morphological preservation and antigen retention, making it the standard fixative for most IHC applications.

Question 2

Frozen section diagnosis is most limited by which artifact?

Accepted Answer

Ice crystal artifact distorting cellular detail

Answer

Ice crystals form during freezing and cause vacuolization and disruption of cellular architecture, limiting cytological detail in frozen sections.

Question 3

A gastric biopsy shows replacement of normal gastric mucosa by intestinal-type epithelium with goblet cells. This change is called:

Accepted Answer

Intestinal metaplasia

Answer

Intestinal metaplasia is the replacement of gastric epithelium by intestinal-type epithelium, including goblet cells, and is a risk factor for gastric adenocarcinoma.

Question 4

In electron microscopy, which ultrastructural feature is pathognomonic for melanoma?

Accepted Answer

Premelanosomes (melanosomes at various stages)

Answer

Premelanosomes — melanosomes at stages I–IV of development — are the definitive ultrastructural marker of melanocytic differentiation in melanoma.

Question 5

The HER2/neu gene amplification status in breast carcinoma is most accurately assessed by which technique on tissue sections?

Accepted Answer

Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)

Answer

FISH directly visualizes gene copy number at the chromosomal level and is the gold-standard method for confirming HER2 amplification when IHC is equivocal.

(HTL) Histotechnology Certification Practice Test

(HTL) Histotechnology Certification Practice Test

HTL Histopathology & Diagnostic Techniques 3