Students from the Medical Biochemical Analysis Department Visited Rizgary Teaching Hospital in Erbil

Students from the Department of Medical Biochemical Analysis at Cihan University-Erbil enjoyed a rewarding academic visit to Rizgary Teaching Hospital on Thursday, February 6, 2025. It was held under the supervision of Dr. Kamran Heydaryan,

During the visit, Dr. Maryam Abdulmajed, the General Pathology course lecturer, explained the gross examination of organs; taking measurements of the targeted organ with a ruler and dissecting the organ appropriately to expose any possible lesioned areas and to facilitate tissue sampling. She later described the significance of appropriate fixation in maintaining tissue morphology, the use of gradually increased alcohol concentration in dehydration to eliminate water content, and the functions of clearing agents (e.g. Xylene) in rendering tissues transparent and preparing for paraffin wax infiltration and subsequent embedding.

Subsequently, a thorough explanation of the tissue processing techniques, a crucial and multistep stage in histopathology, was given by Dr. Maryam and other fellow experts during the visit. Several tissue processing steps, namely fixation, dehydration, clearing, infiltration, embedding, sectioning, staining, and mounting—were explained to the students, in addition to viewing several tissue slides under a microscope at the conclusion.

The students had the opportunity to observe how tissue samples were meticulously cut into thin pieces for microscopic inspection using the microtome device, followed by tissue placement on a slide using a water bath basin. They also looked at hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining in the autostainer machine, a significant step that enhances tissue structure discrimination and makes disease identification easier. They also learned about other lab equipment, including the automated tissue processor, the embedding center, and the microwave oven.