Many people who use their computers as a hobby experience artifacting due to a hardware or software malfunction. The cases can differ but the usual causes are:
Temperature issues, such as failure of cooling fan.
Confocal laser scanning fluorescence micrograph ofthale cress anther (part ofstamen). The picture shows among other things a nice red flowing collar-like structure just below the anther. However, an intact thale cress stamen does not have such collar, this is a fixation artifact: the stamen has been cut below the picture frame, andepidermis (upper layer of cells) of stamen stalk has peeled off, forming a non-characteristic structure. Photo: Heiti Paves fromTallinn University of Technology.
Inmicroscopy, an artifact is an apparent structural detail that is caused by the processing of the specimen and is thus not a legitimate feature of the specimen. Inlight microscopy, artifacts may be produced by air bubbles trapped under theslide's cover slip.[1]
Inelectron microscopy, distortions may be produced in the drying out of the specimen.Staining can cause the appearance of solid chemical deposits that may be seen as structures inside the cell. Different techniques includingfreeze-fracturing andcell fractionation may be used to overcome the problems of artifacts.[1]
Acrush artifact is an artificial elongation and distortion seen inhistopathology andcytopathology studies, presumably because of iatrogenic compression of tissues. Distortion can be caused by the slightest compression of tissue and can provide difficulties in diagnosis.[2][3] It may cause chromatin to be squeezed out of nuclei.[2] Inflammatory and tumor cells are most susceptible to crush artifacts.[2]
Cellulosecontamination, inH&E stain and polarized light
Cardiac muscle (bottom) withcontamination from thyroid tissue (center)
Crush artifact from compression by forceps on the tissue sample
Tearing artifacts, such as can be caused by: - Microtomy with a nick or blemish in the knife edge.[4] - Traction of the sections. - Too much or too little alcohol dehydration.[4] - Sectioning calcified parts, which can be decalcified or removed.[4]
Formalin pigment artifacts
Air bubble entrapment artifact in a shoulder joint biopsy
Staining artifacts by residual wax, resulting in pale areas where cellular structures are not discernible
Aseparation artifact in top image makes the tumor look incompletely excised, but the nextmicrotomy level (bottom image) shows asurgical margin of connective tissue.
Stacking of cells on top of each other gives a dark look, and in this breast tissue it may mimic microcalcifications.
Pap stained smear of a monocyte with nuclear smearing or smudging artifact, seen as a tail-like extension of nuclear material
Small cell carcinoma is a cancer where the presence of smudging is a clue to the diagnosis.[5]
^Image by Mikael Häggström, MD. Source for findings:Caroline I.M. Underwood, M.D., Carolyn Glass, M.D., Ph.D."Lung - Small cell carcinoma".Pathology Outlines.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) Last author update: 20 September 2022
^Page 46 in:Michael Darby, Nicholas Maskell, Anthony Edey, Ladli Chandratreya (2012).Pocket Tutor Chest X-Ray Interpretation. JP Medical Ltd.ISBN9781907816062.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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![Tearing artifacts, such as can be caused by: - Microtomy with a nick or blemish in the knife edge.[4] - Traction of the sections. - Too much or too little alcohol dehydration.[4] - Sectioning calcified parts, which can be decalcified or removed.[4]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aMicroscopy_of_liver_parenchyma_with_tearing_artifacts.jpg)
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![Small cell carcinoma is a cancer where the presence of smudging is a clue to the diagnosis.[5]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aHistopathology_of_small_cell_carcinoma_-_nuclear_smudging.png)
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