Histotechnician

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A trained laboratory professional who processes biological tissue specimens so they can be examined under a microscope by a pathologist
2. A medical laboratory worker skilled in cutting, staining and mounting tissue samples for diagnostic study of disease
3. Someone who prepares slides from body tissue through fixing, sectioning and staining, enabling doctors to identify illness

Etymology: Histotechnician is a plain compound, built from "histo-" and "technician." The first part comes from the Greek "histos," meaning "web" or "tissue," and it appears in biological and medical terms such as histology, the study of tissues under the microscope. The second part, "technician," is a trained worker who carries out practical, hands-on tasks in a laboratory or workshop. Put together, the word names a specialist who prepares thin slices of body tissue so that a pathologist or researcher can examine them under a microscope. The work involves fixing samples, embedding them in wax, cutting sections with a microtome, and staining them so that cells and structures become visible. The word is a modern coinage made from these established parts, so its meaning follows directly from them.

Synonyms: histotechnologist