Muscle Biopsy

Specimen Type

Tissue

Specimen Required

For specific information on how to collect muscle biopsy specimens, please contact the Glens Falls Hospital Pathology Office at 518-926-3836 or 518-926-3837 between the hours of 7:30a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday or contact the reference laboratory at this link: Columbia University Medical Center 

• Specimens should be sent in dry, sterile container without fixative.

Rejected Due To

• Specimens received in formalin can still undergo histologic testing, however, the other testing typically performed on muscle biopsies may be canceled or unable to be performed at the reference laboratory providing this service, as that is not the preferred preservative for those tests.

Special Instructions

The specimen should be delivered immediately to the Histology Laboratory and must be accompanied by a completed request slip. Special arrangements need to be made so that the specimen can be handled by laboratory staff and shipped to the Reference Laboratory, Columbia University Medical Center.

Performing Laboratory

Muscle biopsy specimens are sent to the following reference laboratory:

Columbia University Medical Center 

Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology

Neuromuscular Laboratory

Day(s) and Time(s) Performed

Monday – Thursday, 7:30 a.m. -3:30 p.m.

• The specimens must be received in the laboratory by 3:30 p.m. to ensure timely handling and shipping of the specimen to the reference laboratory

Analytical Time

• Expected turn around time: 2 weeks

Specimen Retention Time

The specimens are retained by the reference laboratory.

• For specimen retention time please contact them at this link: Columbia University Medical Center 

CPT Code Information

For CPT code information please contact the reference laboratory at the link below:

Columbia University Medical Center Department of Pathology, Division of Neuropathology

Analytical Time

• Expected turn around time: 2 weeks