Pathological Anatomy

Justification

The Pathological Anatomy Service is a central service of the HGUGM. Its archives contain tissue material from biopsy, surgical resection and autopsy studies since 1987, as well as material from cytological studies (FNAB and other types of samples) since 2000. In the context of personalised medicine and therapeutic targets, tissue and cytological material have become an important source for conducting immunohistochemical studies to identify the location and expression of proteins, and also for extracting nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) to analyse predictive and prognostic factors in different diseases, particularly cancer.

In addition, the Pathological Anatomy Service has an information management programme (LIS), which contains patient reports dating back to 1997.

On this basis, the Pathological Anatomy Service undertakes the mission of providing scientific and technical support to research groups within and outside the Instituto de investigación sanitaria Gregorio Marañón (IiSGM) in the area of conventional histological, immunohistochemical and molecular genetics studies.

Description of the facilities

The Pathological Anatomy service occupies a separate building, which it shares with Immunology and Occupational Health, accessed via C/ Doctor Castelo.

Distributed over four floors and a basement, where the sample archive is located, the service has suitable equipment for:

• Automated embedding of tissue material from experimental studies (preparation of paraffin blocks)
• Sectioning and haematoxylin–eosin staining of the blocks prepared or supplied by researchers, carried out automatically
• Automated performance of various histochemical techniques (PAS, Alcian blue, Masson's trichrome, reticulin, Warthin–Starry, methenamine silver, Grocott, colloidal iron, Congo red, elastic stains)
• Embedding, sectioning and interpretation of transmission electron microscopy (EM) studies
• Automated sectioning and staining using immunohistochemical techniques (both with the in-house catalogue and with antibodies supplied by researchers)
• DNA extraction from tissue blocks
• RNA extraction from tissue blocks
• Molecular studies to determine RAS, RAF, EGFR and IMS mutations

The service has two sample embedding systems and microtomes for tissue sectioning, as well as centrifuges and other equipment required for cytological studies. In addition, it is equipped through a tender with all the automated systems that enable the techniques described to be performed. At present  and pending the  next tender, the  conventional staining and histochemistry equipment has been awarded to Agilent, immunohistochemistry to Roche, and the molecular techniques are performed using Cobas 6000 and Idylla (Roche and Biocartis, respectively).

Service Portfolio

Procedure for requesting a specific service

The Assignment Form IM-SPE-06 or IM-SPE-07 of the IiSGM shall be used. The Assignment Form consists of 5 parts:

1. SAI identification
2. Applicant identification*
3. Details of the service required and budget**
4. Comments: Indicate whether it is self-billing or not***
5. Signatures

* Applicant identification: where the researcher to whom the cost of the service is to be charged is a new user, they must complete and attach the signed invoicing details form with the first assignment form.

**Details of the services provided:

***Where justification is required for public projects, the IiSGM PNT Self-billing procedure PR-SPE-06 shall be applied.

IMPORTANT: the cost must have been approved by the funding agency, either because it was included in the budget of the initial application (ideal situation), or because the cost was subsequently approved after a formal written request.

The procedure to be followed is as follows:

• Request for the study to be carried out.
• Preparation of a timetable for carrying it out according to the difficulty or volume of samples

SAI Anatomical Pathology Fees

Contact persons