Histotechnologist

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A laboratory professional who processes, sections and stains body tissue so it can be examined under a microscope
2. A trained technician skilled in preparing biological tissue specimens for diagnosis and microscopic study in a laboratory
3. Someone who works in a medical or research lab cutting and staining tissue samples so pathologists can study them

Etymology: "Histotechnologist" is a compound built from two pieces: "histo-", a combining form from Greek "histos" meaning "web" or "tissue" (the same root that gives "histology," the study of tissues under the microscope), and "technologist," a trained technical worker. Put together, the word names someone whose job is the technical side of tissue work, not the research or the diagnosis itself. The "technologist" half carries most of the job description. In clinical laboratories, a technologist performs the hands-on procedures, while a pathologist interprets the results. A histotechnologist takes a sample, fixes it so its cells stay intact, embeds it in wax, slices it into sections thin enough to see through, and stains those sections so that a pathologist can read them. Each step is a skilled craft, which is why the trade needs a name of its own.

Synonyms: histotechnician