Medical Lab Technician Assistant

What Students in Medical Lab Tech Courses Should Know About Histology

December 30, 2019

medical laboratory technician program

Histology studies the microanatomy of body tissues and cells. In this discipline, the structure and function of cells, organs, and more are examined using microscopes. Your courses at Medix College will include theory that covers histology, so that you have an understanding of how people learn more about these important parts of the human body.

When you understand cell and tissue structure, it gives you a solid background of knowledge to apply to your career when collecting samples from patients and logging them, as well as providing patient reception and documentation, among other tasks. Read on to learn more about histology if you’re pursuing a medical lab tech career!

Understanding How Histology Applies to Medical Lab Tech Courses

As you likely already know, medical lab techs can work in veterinary labs, hospitals, clinics, research facilities and more. There is a large opportunity for variety between positions, and the tasks expected of you will vary depending on the environment you are in. In your career you will deal with samples of bodily fluids and tissues.

When you have a strong understanding of how the human body functions and how it is affected by pathologies, you will be able to use this knowledge in the proper handling and processing of samples. You’ll want to understand histology if you’re in a medical laboratory technician program to see the importance of gathering high-quality samples for pathologists to inspect.

In order to be observed under a microscope, tissue samples need to be collected properly
In order to be observed under a microscope, tissue samples need to be collected properly

Tissue Processing in a Medical Laboratory Technician Program

Tissue processing is taught in your classes because it is a necessary step between obtaining tissues for diagnosis or inspection, and producing microscopic slides for pathologists to view and analyze. It’s important to understand the entire process of which you are a part of in a medical lab tech career, so that you can perform in the most informed way possible.

When pathologists need to look at the microanatomy of cells, they use very thin, extremely high-quality slivers of the tissue and mount them on slides. To prevent damage to the sample in this stage, tissue processing prepares the tissue to be cut without being rendered unusable. This process can be very difficult and once a slice is obtained, it will need to be stained on the slide so that the correct information can be visible for analysis, such as abnormalities in cells.

Who Else Learns About Histology, Besides Those in Medical Lab Tech Courses?

Your program isn’t the only place where students are given a background in histology to help in their careers. Medical laboratory technician school is a great place to build thorough knowledge so that your questions are answered. You may be interested to learn that this is also taught to those pursuing careers in archaeology, because they use histology when recovering matter from excavation sites. For example, bones and teeth are often great ways to learn information, as they are biological material.

Histology is also a great way to connect anatomy and physiology, for students in various healthcare disciplines. When you understand what happens at a cellular level, you are better at understanding the big picture of how the human body is built and works. Forensics students also learn about histology, to understand how tissues are examined in their careers.

Every stage of the process of histology is important, including your tasks as a lab tech
Every stage of the process of histology is important, including your tasks as a lab tech

Are you interested in medical lab tech courses?

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