Ultrastructural Pathology
During the electron microscopy rotation, centered in the Electron Microscopy Unit at Presbyterian University Hospital, residents become familiar with the operation of the electron microscope, including the concepts of electron wave energy for imaging and electron microscope resolution. Residents also prepare tissues for electron microscopy and learn processing of negatives and printing of electron photomicrographs.
During this time, residents examine and discuss cases in groups of teaching sets to learn the diagnostic approach used in electron microscopy. Areas covered include medical kidney diseases; selected tumors; brain tumors; soft tissue and mesothelial tumors; hematopoietic malignancies; metabolic disorders; and special procedures, including bone marrow buffy coat examination, immunoelectron microscopy, and quantitative examinations of fibrils and microvilli.
The department places a special emphasis on the use of electron microscopy in the differential diagnosis of adenocarcinoma, lymphoma and melanoma, lymphoblastic and myeloid leukemias, mesothelioma and carcinoma, malignant tumors of various types, and the "small cell tumors."
