Pathology Labs

• Sample Price List
• Immunohistochemical stains for tumor markers
• Histochemical special stains
• Clinical Pathology Tests
• Normal rat, mouse, and dog tissues available

Our commitment to you:

• Timeline: 7-21 business days for routine submissions
• Electronic reporting of findings, evaluation, and interpretation
• Publication of quality digital images with caption and legend

Shipping address:

Comparative Pathology Laboratory
Department of Pathology
501 DW Brooks Drive
Athens, GA 30602-7388

General shipping guidelines:

Live research animals
Please contact us to arrange shipment of live animals.

Fresh tissues
Each fresh tissue should be placed in a leak-proof plastic container (preferably a screw-top container) and maintained at refrigerator temperatures from collection to receipt at the laboratory.

Tissues for histopathological examination
Samples should be fixed in adequate amount (i.e. 10-20 times volume of fixative to volume of tissues) of 10% neutral buffered formalin prior to shipment and should be submitted in a wide-mouth, leak-proof container. Samples need not to be refrigerated.

Federal regulations:

Packaging and labeling of diagnostic specimens are governed by applicable federal regulations. Packaging should be adequate as to prevent leakage or breakage as shippers may face prosecution if spillage and damage to mail, equipment, or personnel occurs during shipment (even if the material involved is not infectious or hazardous). The shipping container should be appropriately labeled (i.e., “Perishable, Biologic Specimen”, etc.) on the outside.

We perform more than 300,000 tests annually, including approximately 11,000 complete blood cell counts (CBCs), 10,000 biochemical profiles, 3,000 cytologic specimens, 4,000 urinalyses, 600 coagulation profiles, and 1,500 endocrinology tests. We also offer a variety of unusual or non-routine analyses that are performed by subcontract in other specialized clinical laboratories throughout the country. Major instrumentation in our laboratory includes a Bayer-Advia 120 hematology analyzer, Roche Cobas c501 biochemical analyzer, STA Compact Max, Abaxis Vetscan biochemical analyzer, Immulite 2000 xpi for hormone assays, and the Nova pHOx Ultra for blood gas, acid-base, and electrolyte determinations.

If you are a veterinarian in the state of Georgia, all clinical pathology requests go through our Veterinary Diagnostic Lab.

Hours of operation:

• 8:00 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday-Friday
• Limited laboratory testing available on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 9-10 a.m.
• Around-the-clock emergency service available

The Histology Lab offers a wide variety of services from Routine Histology to Special Staining and Immunohistochemistry as well as Frozen Sectioning.

For Routine Histology – Process, Embed, H&E Staining:

Please send formalin fixed samples in properly labeled cassettes in a tightly sealed container with 10% Neutral Buffered Formalin. If you are hand-labeling your cassettes, please be sure to do so with a KP Marker or equivalent chemical resistant pen. Please do not use pencil, regular pen, or sharpies as the labels WILL wash off during processing.

For Special Stains and/or IHC:

If sending unprocessed samples, please follow the same instructions as above for Routine Histology.  If you already have FFPE samples, please send the entire tissue block for us to cut slides from, or 5 unstained slides from each block for each stain.  We will return the block with your finished product.

For IHC – Tissue should be fully fixed and then immediately embedded in paraffin to maintain antigenicity. Over fixation leads to poor IHC staining. For bony tissues, a chelating agent such as EDTA should be used for decal. Acid decalcification also leads to poor IHC staining. If you have concerns about sample quality, please contact the lab prior to submission.

For Frozen Services:

Please contact the lab if you would like frozen services.

We also accommodate many other various requests from recuts to bullets for PCR to deparaffinization of unstained slides. For more information on those services, please see our routine submission form or contact the lab directly.

• Submission Form
• Routine Worksheet
• Fee Schedule
• Digital Pathology Submission Form

• To help distinguish between reactive and neoplastic lymphocytes
• To determine if lymphoma / leukemia is of B or T cell origin and in some cases, identify specific subtypes of B or T cell lymphoma / leukemia which will aid in prognosis
• To differentiate between lymphoid and non-lymphoid (myeloid / monocytic) neoplasia