• Orient the specimen if orienting sutures or clips are present. Contact the surgeon or staff pathologist if necessary.
• If the intact specimen has not been x-rayed yet, do so now.  Place metal markers adjacent to the specimen in the x-ray machine to provide orientation.  Ensure that the x-ray is tagged (either electronically or in writing, if film is used) with patient-identifying information, date, specimen accession number, site of biopsy, and anatomic location (e.g. lateral and superior) of the markers.
• Measure the size of the specimen in three dimensions and note the general shape (e.g., ovoid, spherical).
• Record the presence of skin, fascia, and/or skeletal muscle.  Measure these structures.
• Blot dry the specimen and ink with multiple colors, if oriented, or with one color if unoriented; blot with paper towel wet with Bouin’s solution or alcohol.
• Serially section the specimen in 2-3 mm intervals (perpendicular to the needle wire, when possible).
• If a mass or discrete nodule is identified, process as described in Excisional Biopsy/Lumpectomy for Mammographic Density or Palpable Mass.
• Arrange the slices in order and x-ray them, using metal markers to provide orientation.  If film is used, mark the x-ray with consecutive numbers and orientation of each slice; indicate the areas from which sections were submitted.

• For microcalcifications without identifiable mass:  submit all slices with microcalcifications and the slices immediately preceding and following these slices.
• For an identifiable mass with or without microcalcifications:  submit the entire mass and adjacent margins (or at least four sections of the lesion if very large); sample margins not included with sections of the mass.

Internal use only

Received without fixative/in formalin labeled ______ and "___" is a __ x __ x __ cm ____ (shape) piece of fibroadipose tissue with a needle wire in situ coursing from the ___ (e.g. superior-lateral) to the ___ aspect.  ___ sutures are present:  short suture = ___; long suture = ___;  short double suture = ___.-   The specimen is inked as follows:  superior = blue; inferior = green; anterior = yellow; posterior = black; medial and lateral = red.  On specimen x-ray, microcalcifications are identified ____ (e.g. near the tip of the wire).  It is serially sectioned perpendicularly to the wire into ____ slices, consecutively numbered 1 to ___ from (e.g. lateral to medial).   The specimen has a _____ (color, fibrofatty/fleshy) cut surface with a ___ x ___ x ___ cm ___ (e.g. nodule / firm area) ___ (e.g. near the wire tip) in sections # ___.   It is ___ cm from the closest (_____) margin.  X-ray shows microcalcifications in ____ (location) in sections # ___, #___ and # ___,  located __ cm from the nearest (_____) margin.  The sections are serially labeled on the X-ray film and are representatively / entirely submitted as follows:

#__ - #__ = microcalcifications (entirely submitted) in slices __  and __, with _____ (i.e. nearest) margin(s) margins.

#__ - #__ = area around the wire tip (slice #___) (if not included above)

#__ - #__ = fibrous tissue and nearest margins, slice #___.

#__ = slice # ___ (next to slice#___ with microcalcification) with ____ margin; 1 piece.

#__ = slice # ___ (next to slice#___ with microcalcification) with ____ margin; 1 piece.

#__ =  slice # ___ (next to slice#___ with microcalcification) with ____ margin; 1 piece.

__ blocks, __ H&E