How to Read a Laboratory Report of Tissue Culture

Specimens of skin, membrane and other body tissues are prepared and submitted to laboratories to determine whether or not mutated or diseased cells are present in the sample. A laboratory technician prepares the sample further, if necessary, to be inspected. Microscopic evaluations, visual examinations, descriptions, measurements and other testing methods enable the lab pathologist to make a preliminary and final determination. Their findings are presented in a culture report, which is evaluated by the referring physician.

Things You'll Need

• Copy of lab report of tissue culture
• Taber's Medical Dictionary or online medical terminology dictionary

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Instructions

• 1

  Obtain a copy of a tissue culture report, from a doctor's office or a laboratory. Due to HIPPA (Health Information Privacy and Protection Act) regulations, any record that does not belong to you cannot be provided to anyone but the person it involves. Copies may be obtained by those with a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, for any person whose healthcare decisions they dictate.

• 2

  Locate the citation of the sample's source (location on the body from where the tissue was taken), the date collected, and the patient's name documented. Often, a preliminary report is issued before a final report; this report is not always relied upon for decision-making. The words "preliminary report" or "final report" indicate which version you have at hand.

• 3

  Medical dictionaries list terminology used in the medical profession.

  Use a medical dictionary, such as a Taber's, or have your computer set to an online site for medical terminology, to look up any medical words you do not understand. Medical terms are not usually found in regular dictionaries. The Taber's Medical Dictionary has been in use for decades, and even an older copy can be helpful.

• 4

  Look for a paragraph describing the tissue sample. This first description is how the sample appears to the naked eye. The next section describes the microscopic view of the tissue sample. Here, you can also read how the tissue differs from normal tissue of its type, if it does differ.

• 5

  Identify the portion of the report that gives a diagnosis of the tissue sample cultured. An abnormal sample has the type of disease or condition represented by the tissue. There may be a grading of the abnormality here. Grading relates to abnormal characteristics of cells found within the sample, and a probability of the growth and spread rate of any detected cancer cells.

• 6

  The metric system is used for medical measurements in most circumstances.

  Look for measurements next, which appear in centimeter (cm) form. Numbers here indicate the size of abnormal cells, along with the extent of any area involved. The depth of tissue involvement may also be indicated, especially in skin tissue samples.

• 7

  Microscopic imaging reveals skin cancer cells, stained to reveal their structures.

  See if a tumor margin description follows. Tumor margins are classified in one of three ways: negative, meaning the sample's edges show an absence of tumor cells; positive, meaning tumor cells are present at the margin of the sample; or close, indicating neither a positive or negative result. A positive tumor margin result likely necessitates further tissue removal from the affected site.

• 8

  Find more information at the end of the report. This may be information about other tests being conducted on the sample, a second opinion about the results, or further test results. Continued testing may determine the origin, type and source of any cancer found, or the classification of leukemias and lymphomas, or cell properties, including the presence of tumor markers.

• 9

  Doctors obtain the resulting reports for every lab test they order.

  Finish your reading by noting the name of the pathologist who dictated the report, and his credentials, followed by his dated signature. The report may be countersigned by the referring physician, as well, to indicate she read the findings.