Apparatus and method for harvesting and handling tissue samples for biopsy analysis

A tissue sample container comprising:

• a tissue support, said tissue support being formed of material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome, resistant to histological stains, resistant to degradation from solvents and chemicals used to fix, process and stain tissue;
• and
• deflectable structure which engages and retains tissue in place during processing and embedding.

A biopsy tissue harvesting device which deposits a biopsy sample onto a tissue support directly from a harvesting device comprising:

• a tissue support, said tissue support being formed of material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome, resistant to histological stains, resistant to degradation from solvents and chemicals used to fix, process and stain tissue.

A platform comprising:

• a microtome sectionable tissue support which is formed of material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome, resistant to histological stains, resistant to degradation from solvents and chemicals used to fix, process and stain tissue and is non-distracting during tissue analysis.

A tissue sample container comprising:

• a microtome sectionable tissue support which is formed of material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome, resistant to histological stains, resistant to degradation from solvents and chemicals used to fix, process and stain tissue and is non-distracting during tissue analysis;
• and
• deflectable structure which engages and retains tissue in place during processing and embedding.

A platform comprising:

• a tissue support which is microtome sectionable;
• and an embedding medium in which said tissue support is embedded, said embedding medium being formed of material that can be successfully sectioned in a microtome whereby said tissue support and said embedding medium may be simultaneously sectioned in the microtome.

A histologic tissue sample support, said support configured to hold a tissue sample and being formed of a material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome, said support further being resistant to degradation from solvents and chemicals used to fix and process the tissue sample during a histologic procedure.

A histologic tissue sample support structure, comprising:

• a support member configured to hold a tissue sample and being formed of a material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome;
• and
• a tissue embedding medium in which said support member is embedded, said embedding medium being formed of material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome.

A histologic tissue sample cassette, said cassette having a bottom portion configured to hold a tissue sample in a desired orientation and at least one side wall for containing the tissue sample, said cassette further being formed of a material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome.

Apparatus for holding a histologic tissue sample while sectioning the tissue sample in a microtome, the apparatus comprising:

• a frame;
• a tissue sample support coupled to said frame, said support configured to hold the tissue sample and being formed of a material which can be successfully sectioned in a microtome, said support further being resistant to degradation from solvents and chemicals used to fix and process the tissue sample during a histologic procedure.

A cassette for receiving and retaining a tissue sample for processing prior to histological examination, comprising:

• a top portion and a bottom portion snap or friction mounted together, the bottom portion having a bottom wall and a side wall each being removable after a procedure is performed to embed the tissue sample in said bottom portion.

A cassette for receiving and retaining a tissue sample in a desired orientation for processing and microtoming procedures prior to histological examination, comprising:

• a support structure having a porous top, porous bottom and porous sides configured to surround and fix the tissue sample in the desired orientation during the processing and microtoming procedures prior to histological examination.