This week's artwork was donated by Vansom, a pediatric cancer patient who received treatment at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia . A biopsy is the surgical removal of a piece of tissue from your animal, and is recommended by your veterinarian in order to establish a tissue diagnosis. The diagnosis is determined by the examination of this tissue under a microscope by a pathologist. If the tissue is cancerous, the biopsy provides important information regarding the type and nature of the cancer. It is the judgement of the clinician whether the biopsy specimen should be excisional or incisional.
Fixation is a method of preserving the material and prevents decomposition.
The pathologist will then provide a final report to the referring clinician. In most cases a report will be available in three working days. However, in some instances this may take longer. Special staining techniques that may be required to identify cells, cell products, bacteria,fungi, etc. Difficult or unusual cases for which the pathologist will seek a consultation with other pathologists.