Histology

The best specimens should be sent for histology in paraformalin. Inspect the specimen. It will have a red and white portion. The red is intercostal muscle and the white portion is pleura. Send as many good specimens as possible to histology, as most of the information will be obtained from it.

Don't get frustrated when the report comes back as muscle. The normal pleura is thin and it will be reported a connective tissue. Obviously, if you did not see a white portion, you did not obtain any pleura.

Histology is good for diagnosing a malignancy, TB and sarcoidosis. The histology will be non- specific for all other diseases.