Beauty in the unexpected
In pathology, an artifact is an artificial change introduced as a result of some step in tissue manipulation. Tissue processing -progressive dehydration and paraffinization - produces reproducible "artifacts" as a result of inherent properties of some tissues lending their "classic" appearance under the microscope (e.g. "fried egg" appearance of oligodendrocytes, "orphan Annie-eye" nuclei in follicular thyroid carcinoma). In general, though, artifact is something to be avoided -an unwanted result of some misstep in the tissue handing process...improper fixation, air drying, or the dreaded air bubble under the coverslip. These artifacts can physically obscure the tissue and even alter the appearance of cells. Sometimes the effect is small like tiny flecks of black formalin pigment in the background. At its worst, artifact can make tissue sections nearly uninterpretable (e.g. cautery artifact or "cooked" tissue, ice crystals in frozen section).
As I was looking at sections of frontal cortex today for a research study, many of the slides had fallen victim to the plight of too little mounting medium causing air bubbles everywhere!! These bubbles produce black masses (highly refractile without the condenser) under the microscope obscuring the tissue beneath. As I was fighting with the bubbles, I began to notice the amazing arrangements they made as the air dissected along the tissue surface -these beautiful ice crystal-like organic structures forming tiny forests on the microscopic surface of neurons, glia, dendrites, axons, capillaries and arterioles...little rivers formed by negative spaces between gyri.
More strange little planets and unexpected landscapes.
As I was looking at sections of frontal cortex today for a research study, many of the slides had fallen victim to the plight of too little mounting medium causing air bubbles everywhere!! These bubbles produce black masses (highly refractile without the condenser) under the microscope obscuring the tissue beneath. As I was fighting with the bubbles, I began to notice the amazing arrangements they made as the air dissected along the tissue surface -these beautiful ice crystal-like organic structures forming tiny forests on the microscopic surface of neurons, glia, dendrites, axons, capillaries and arterioles...little rivers formed by negative spaces between gyri.
More strange little planets and unexpected landscapes.
Here's to finding the unexpected beauty in the artifacts of life.
