Microscopic appearances of commonly implanted food particles.

Background: Pathologists come across various structures in the microscopic sections that are unrelated to the tissues. Artifacts can occur in the tissue from the time the area is prepared for biopsy, during fixation, grossing, processing, sectioning and staining of the specimen. Food substances may get entrapped into the oral tissues and can lead to misdiagnosis. The aim of this study was to observe the microscopic appearances of commonly implanted food particles.

Methods: Fourteen food samples were procured from a local market in Chennai, India. This included guava, chilli, chickpeas, channa dal (split chickpeas), cucumber, brinjal, carrot, capsicum, cabbage and urad dal and brown chickpea. The food samples were fixed in 10% formalin for 24 h and were subsequently processed. Hematoxylin and eosin staining was performed, and the sections were observed under the microscope.

Results: Each specimen revealed unique, distinct histology of each food type. Channa dal microscopically in hematoxylin- and eosin-stained sections revealed round-to-oval structures with central pale eosinophilic lobulation. Capsicum showed round-to-polygonal structures of different shapes and sizes with clear central areas. Urad dal microscopically showed cluster of 5-6 eosinophilic structures separated by regular partitions.

Conclusion: It is important to study the microscopic appearances of commonly implanted food particles to prevent any diagnostic dilemmas. Further studies are required involving various other food particles and their microscopic appearances.