title: The value of large sections in surgical pathology.
abstract: Large format sections (LS) first have been introduced in breast pathology more than a century ago. Since then, they constituted for longtime a research tool to better understand breast microanatomy and the relationship between radiological images and pathological features. Similarly LS have been used to study neoplastic, inflammatory, and degenerative diseases affecting various organs, as brain, lung, gastrointentinal tract, bone, urinary tract, prostate, and placenta. Currently LS are mostly applied to diagnostic routine to better stage tumours such as prostate and breast carcinomas or to correlate radiologic imaging to gross specimens. The purpose of the present paper is to review the historical background and the basis of the applications of LS in surgical pathology, with special emphasis on breast tumours.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical and Neuro Motor Sciences, Section of Anatomic Pathology, University of Bologna, "M. Malpighi", at Bellaria Hospital, Via Altura 3, 40139 Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Foschini
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Baldovini
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Eusebi