Every year dozens of physicians-in-training face for the first time the responsibil ity of
examining and diagnosing central nervous system tumors or biopsies of the central nervous
system the peripheral nerves or muscles whose surgical resection has been decided on both as
a form of treatment (in the case of tumors) and as means to confirm a presumptive diagnosis.
The selection of the most appropriate form of post surgical treatment for most tumors is
predicated on the precise identification of the tumor cells. The evaluation of the specimen by
a pathologist will not only determine whether the lesion is truly neoplastic but also whether
there are histologic indicators of malig nancy. Moreover in some cases the pathologist will
be asked to determine whether the tumor cells contain certain hormone precursors or receptors
as an example. Recognition of many of the features that one must search for requires the
judicious application of methods that may not be readily known to the physicians involved in
the various diagnostic procedures. The handling and processing of the tissues as they arrive in
the pathology laboratory for the above reasons vary as a function of the organ (or site) of
origin of a given tumor as well as a function of the presumptive clinical diagnosis. The
material contained in this book series has been organized in an attempt to help the
pathologists-in-training the general pathologists the neurosurgeons and neu rologists to
understand the logic behind such special requirements.
