**10. Conclusions**

*Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery*

strictly followed.

substances [12].

vents. A biohazard label is a must [12].

information)

broken sample bottles)

4.Improper or wrong container

6.Contamination of specimen

**9.5 Basic criteria for rejection of specimens**

should be taken when the following criteria are not fulfilled:

3.Misidentification of specimen (unlabeled or mismatched)

quantity for the test requested transport media

**9.3 Examination of cystic fluid**

Cysts contain a fluid or semi-fluid material, which for diagnostic purposes is aspirated by the means of glass syringe and hypodermic needle. The anesthetized place where the needle is to be inserted or the bone perforated with a sterilizing agent is prepared; the area with sterile gauze should be isolated. The cystic content

With the increasing specimen loads and collection centers now at the remotest parts of the country, transportation of the pathology specimen plays a crucial role in timely diagnosis. Thus specimen transport needs special care and attention to detail and appropriately filled laboratory requisition form guidelines that are usually issued by the national authorities, e.g., Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) and the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) or Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) and the World Health Organization (WHO), are to be

For any hand-carried specimen that is transported over a short distance, the specimen needs to be placed upright in appropriate bottles with sufficient fixatives in appropriate racks. For long-distance cross country or different countries, the triple packing system has been advocated specially for infectious

The triple packing system contains three layers as (1) primary container/ receptacle that has the specimen and is leak proof with a screw cap and (2) secondary container that is durable, waterproof and made of metal/plastic with a screw cap. It contains absorptive material, and details of the specimen are pasted on the outside of the container. (3) The outer packing or tertiary container is made of wood or card-box and withstands the transportation shocks. Dry ice is normally kept between the outer two containers with provision for carbon dioxide gas release

A laboratory should always consider strict rules on the basis of which an oral specimen could be rejected. This important decision must be taken with full conviction of doing the right thing to save time and laboratory resources. Such decision

1.Inappropriate test requests (incomplete, duplicate, missing or inconsistent

2.Errors in transport and handling (light exposure, delayed transport time or

5.Insufficient specimen quantity for the quantity of preservative or insufficient

is then aspirated and examined on a slide or cultured [10].

**9.4 Transportation of diagnostic specimens**

**56**

Thus a continuous effort must be made in order to ensure proper collection and transportation of clinical specimens by all involved. A sound understanding of contemporary principles and practices of various methods of collection and transport of specimens is of critical importance to the clinician dealing with oral and maxillofacial infections.
