Frozen section (F.S.) is considered an important intraoperative consultation that is performed by the pathologist who has to come to a correct decision in short time under pressure, using his experience and the knowledge of his speciality. The patient's life is often dramatically influenced by his report. The major reasons of applying this procedure are: Determination of the diagnosis of an unknown pathologic process chiefly whether it is malignant or benign, determination of the presence and the nature of the tumor or the site in case it has been resected endoscopically, control of the adequacy of resection margins, determination of synchronous lesions, determination of the presence or absence of lymph node metastases and microscopic identification of a specimen. The knowledge of the patient's medical history and the accepted quality and quantity of the tissue specimen are important factor for diagnosis on frozen section with safety. The specificity accuracy rated of F.S. diagnosis reported in the literature usually range from 94% to 98%.

Key words: Surgical Pathology, Frozen-sections.

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