title: Microdissection techniques for molecular testing in surgical pathology.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the techniques for microdissection of paraffin-embedded and frozen tissue sections for the use in molecular applications.
  
  
  METHODS
  Original research papers and review papers and the authors' personal experiences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Manual and laser-capture microdissection are described in detail, with specific protocols for sample preparation and instructions for performing the microdissection. A section addressing frequently asked questions is also included.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microdissection is a technique that is very useful both in the research setting and for clinical molecular testing in paraffin-embedded tissue samples. The available techniques range from simple and inexpensive (manual microdissection) to complex and expensive (laser-capture microdissection). All of the techniques, however, require the user to be familiar with microscopy and histology.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, Pa 15213, USA. huntjl@upmc.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Hunt
authors.forename: Sydney D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Finkelstein
mesh_terms: D005821:Genetic Techniques; D006801:Humans; D042282:Microdissection / Q000379:methods*; D025202:Molecular Diagnostic Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D016612:Paraffin Embedding; D010340:Pathology, Surgical / Q000379:methods*