How to study Histology

[Harbindoc]

Hello,

I am currently taking a Histology course as an undergrad, and I am wondering how to study for the lab practicals. I am confident I will do well on the written portion of exams, but I really don't know how to study for the practical. All the microscope slides are beginning to look a lot alike. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

Michele

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[mistirvr]

When I took histo. last semester, I prepared for the lab practicals through A LOT of repetition. Basically I looked at slides until they looked alike, then took a break, and began again.

Be familiar with your staining techniques and look for cellular components which are stained in that way. Also, look closely at the cell structure and anything unique. For example, the bladder has transitional epithelium with a single layer that may be flattened due to expansion of the bladder.

Anyway, good luck. I think repetition and attention to detail are key and will get you through lab practicals without any trouble!

-Melissa

 

[LR6SO4]

First ask yourself "What is the tissue?" Everything does look alike but just keep it simple, find a distinguishing cell, look at the WHOLE slide those borders often give it away with different epithelium and all. Histo labs are tough, but it will pay off when you take path. Path is just adding one step onto the what is the tissue question "What is the departure from the norm?"

 

[mrp]

Okay this is kind of a cheap way to do well but...

If you look you may find that many of the tissue slices have the same overall shape.

We would study not just the microscopic appearance of the sample, but the shape of the slice as it appears grossly. We found that with just a little practice, we could id slices on lab practicals without even looking through the scope.

-mrp

 

[ckent]

This may sound like common sense but I think that it is worth mentioning anyways. When you are studying histology and you really cannot tell the difference between two different cells/tissues with the answer in front of you, ignore it because it would be impossible for them to test you on it. If you cannot tell the difference between two things with the answer in front of you, and you know what you are doing of course, a trained pathologist could do no better without some frame of reference. They will only test you on things where there are clear features/differences that distinguish it from other things that you have seen. Focus on the differences (whether they be subtle or obvious), ignore the similarities. Know what things classically look like, then look at variants of what you might see if you have time, but always keep the classical picture and features in mind. That worked for me while I was studying histo.

 

[Jamier2]

When I took histo in undergrad, we had a book called "Histology Look-alikes" or "Look-alikes in Histo" or something very similar. This was very helpful in finding ways to tell tissues apart that initially look almost identical.

 

[neilc]

histolgy? just shoot yourself now and get it over with!

on the slide finals here, i got through mainly by looking at the slide as a whole, and getting the ID from that around 75% of the time. the rest of the time i just prayed...i spent my time looking through the scope only looking at stuff which i could not identify any other way...i hate microscopes and histology. but, be warned...this method of study will screw you (and me) for pathology...

 

[RainaNoelle]

Hey, I was searching for the book Jamie mentioned and found a webpage at U. Cincy with pictures scanned from it (and another book). If you're interested, check it out:

<a href="http://users.von.uc.edu/michaeje/HistoLookalike/" target="_blank">http://users.von.uc.edu/michaeje/HistoLookalike/</a>

Good luck!
Raina

 

[iowaboy]

I actually taught part of the med histology last year and I have to say, I think the biggest way to help you study histology is to find as many sources as you can and study the histological structures. Use the histology atlas, histology textbook, slides and web-based slides. I am not, but I can imagine that an undergraduate histology course would not be as in depth as a medical course..but again..i could be wrong.

So my advice is, the best way to study is to look at many different examples as you can. Also, I would not reccommend memorizing color stain patterns, because even though most slides you see will be stained with H&E (hematoxylin and eosin) we have in the past thrown slides on exams which were stained with different chemicals to present a *koff* challenge to the students. Therefore, study what the stuctures ought to look like. Also, you should basic things like what all the epithelial cell types look like, connective tissue types look like versus blood vessels versus bone versus cartilage.. This helps out a lot when trying to identify histology on organs (kidney, liver, heart..etc...)
I hope this helps!

 

[megkudos]

The answer to your question:

Landmarks.

Everything you need to know in histo has a certain "landmark" that distinguishes it from other tissues/structures. So use the landmark to figure out what tissue you are looking at then just memorize the specifics about that tissue.

 

[simpleton]

Here's a great site for Histo slides:

<a href="http://www.udel.edu/Biology/Wags/histopage/histopage.htm" target="_blank">http://www.udel.edu/Biology/Wags/histopage/histopage.htm</a>

 

[Harbindoc]

Sorry for the delay in my reply...... My computer has been on the blink for a while. Damn Viruses! Thank You so much for all of your responses. I will use all of the advice you have given me. I am enjoying Histology oddly enough and think I can do well! Thanks Again!

 

[NastyC5]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by iowaboy:
•
Also, I would not reccommend memorizing color stain patterns, because even though most slides you see will be stained with H&E (hematoxylin and eosin) we have in the past thrown slides on exams which were stained with different chemicals to present a *koff* challenge to the students. Therefore, study what the stuctures ought to look like.•••••That is probably the single most important thing to keep in mind. My histo TA's keep reiterating to us that we should look for STRUCTURES we know and not colors of stains we recognize.

 

[KyGrlDr2B]

•••quote:•••Originally posted by simpleton:
•Here's a great site for Histo slides:

<a href="http://www.udel.edu/Biology/Wags/histopage/histopage.htm" target="_blank">http://www.udel.edu/Biology/Wags/histopage/histopage.htm</a>•••••Is it just me or are these two guys THE SAME PERSON?

 

[warpath]

I enjoyed histology too. My prof taught us using a different method than other profs normally use. Instead of memorizing what different slides looked like, we were taught to use deductive analyis.

-What are the different types of tissues in this structure?
-What are the modifications of each tissue? Why do I think these are the structures and modifications?
-What are the functions of each of these tissues, especially with those specific modifications?
-how are these tissues arranged in this structure?
-hence, what is the possible function of this structure?
-Finally, what is this structure?

Also try to look at the slide before putting it under the microscope. For example, we were given a free-standing structure (flap-like) but because I looked at the details and neglected to look at the whole thing unmagnified, I failed to recognize it as an epiglotis. Structures, like the kidney, have specific shapes you just can't miss. And if you find arrangments of epithelium that look like glomeruli, Bingo!

I found this very helpful because it meant we didn't have to spend so much time memorizing all the slides.

 

[fishtolive]

i took histo last year as an undergrad and as far as practicals...if you have a dual scope get on there with a buddy and quiz each other to death...if not...hours in the lab staring into the scope should do it

remember, histo is 99% imagination (stupid bile canaliculus!)