• An ovary may be received attached to the fallopian tube (with or without the uterus) or alone. 
• Determine whether the specimen is an intact ovary or a partial ovary.  If the specimen is a cyst, try to identify ovarian tissue in the wall.
• Measure the specimen (3 dimensions).  Weigh it if it appears enlarged.  Describe the overall shape (round, oval, multilobulated) and the external surface (color, gyrate, adhesions, tumor, excrescences).
• Bivalve the ovary if it appears normal. Serially section the ovary if it appears abnormal. 
• If cystic, place the specimen in a container and make a small incision through the wall, allowing any fluid to drain into the container.  Then, continue your cut with scissors, fully exposing the internal lining, and sectioning any other cystic or solid areas.
• Describe the cut surface of solid areas (color, fibrous vs. fleshy, hemorrhage, necrosis, nodularity).  Describe the internal lining of cystic areas (color, smooth, excrescences, hemorrhage), as well as the composition of fluid (color, translucency, thin vs. thick, sticky) and additional material (matted hair, greasy debris, tooth-like structure).

• Normal-appearing ovary:  one section.
• Non-neoplastic cyst:  3-5 sections of cyst wall.  One section of uninvolved ovary if not included with cyst sections.
• Neoplastic cyst or tumor:  one section per centimeter of cyst wall/tumor, with emphasis on solid areas and excrescences (if the wall is thin, you can roll then cut it crossly).  One section of uninvolved ovary.
• Request that cyst wall sections be embedded and cut on edge.

(Following the description of the Hysterectomy for Benign Condition:)

Following the description of the uterus:

The _____ (left vs. right) ovary measures __ x __ x __ cm and has a tan-gray _____ (smooth, cerebriform, adhesion-covered) external surface.  The cut surface is white-gray, with a well-defined __ cm yellow nodule resembling corpus luteum/multiple white nodules resembling corpora albicantia.  There is also a __ cm intraparenchymal cyst with a _____ (describe) lining and filled with _____ (describe) fluid.  Representatively submitted in #__ in __ pieces.

Oophorectomy for Tumor

Received without fixative/in formalin labeled _____ and  "_____", is a _____ (color, multinodular, spherical) mass measuring __ x __ x __ cm with a portion of fallopian tube (length __ cm, diameter __ cm) stretched over its surface.  The aggregate weight is __ g.  The external surface of the mass is _____ (smooth, adhesion-covered), with no/_____ (color, texture) papillary excrescences up to __ cm in diameter each, covering approximately __% of the surface.  Approximately __% of the mass is multiloculated, with cysts ranging from __ to __ cm in diameter that are filled with _____ (color, consistency) fluid.  The cysts have a smooth gray-white lining, with no/a few excrescences similar to those on the outside of the specimen, up to __ cm in diameter.  The remainder of the mass is firm and solid, with/without hemorrhage and necrosis, and with a mottled appearance ranging from _____ to _____ (color to color).  Possible residual ovarian tissue measuring __ x __ x __ cm is/is not identified.  The mass does/does not appear to involve the fallopian tube, which has a fimbriated end, a _____ (color, smooth, adhesion-covered) external surface, and a patent lumen/lumen obstructed by _____ (blood clot, tumor)/lumen filled with serous fluid.  Representatively submitted as follows:

#__ - __ = cyst wall with excrescences

#__ = thickened area of cyst wall

#__ - __ = nodule/mass (at least 10 sections in 5-6 cassettes, especially for surface borderline lesion)

#__ = residual ovary

#__ = fallopian tube

__ blocks, __ H&E