Frozen Section: Principle and Procedure

Abstract

The frozen section is the rapid tissue section by cooling the tissue with the help of cryostat to provide immediate report of the tissue sample. The cryostat is the instrument to freeze the tissue and also to cut the frozen tissue for microscopic section. The rapid freezing of the tissue sample converts the water into ice. The firm ice within the tissue acts as embedding media to cut the tissue. The frozen section is mainly used for rapid diagnosis of the lesion for intraoperative management, to know the extent of the lesion, to do enzyme immunocytochemistry and immunofluorescence study and also to stain lipid and certain carbohydrate in the tissue. This chapter describes the principle, indications, techniques and various troubleshooting in frozen section. It also covers how to make good-quality section from frozen tissue section.