Ask Dr. Dave Question Archive

5/1/07
 
Q: Dear Dr. Dave:
I’m an Undergraduate preparing for our Histology final. Exams scare me. Do you have any hints to help me study better?
Alfred F., New York, NY
 
A: Dear Alfred,
         Thanks for your question! First, fear not: You are not alone. Lots of students fear exams…That fear can be reduced by knowing you know the material! The best way to do that is: Learn the basics first and add details later. Since anything is easy once you understand it, learn the basics first by cracking the code! Learn the vocabulary of Histology: Learn to recognize the images (pattern recognition); and connect the two. Histology is largely vocabulary plus pattern recognition plus realizing what functions certain structures perform.
Hope that helps. Good luck!
 
Q: Dear Dr. Dave:
Help! I’m an English major taking histology and don’t have much science background. These terms are weird. Can you suggest how I can master them?
Susan  M., Lincoln, Nebraska
 
A: Dear Susan,
         As an English major, you’re in the catbird seat. When presented in an understandable way, the (sometimes) arcane terminology of Histology comes easily. On this website we’ve got a free online Atlas, “Visual Histology” for you. It has an interactive glossary that we wrote IN PLAIN ENGLISH! Try it out with a “study buddy” — ask each other words. Play “stump the stars.” That way you’ll see which terms you know and learn the ones you don’t know very fast. Our minds really seem to like the question-and-answer format.
         Let me know how that works for you!
 
Q: Dear Dr. Dave,
         Most of the slides we us in our Histo lab are stained with “H&E.” I’m confused about the stain. What does it show and how does it work?
Shelley F., Fort Collins, Colorado
 
A: Dear Shelley,
“H” stands for “Haematoxylin,” a basic dye that stains acidic structures purple. “E” stands for “Eosin,” an acidic dye that stains basic structures red. The combination of a basic dye with and acidic dye in the same stain lets the viewer not only see structures in very nice and colorful contrast, but also tell something about their chemical makeup.