JPH11271194A - Tissue piece treatment method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To utilize another same type of chemical liquid for continuing an tissue piece treatment for an organization piece even if treatment by one chemical liquid cannot be made even if the amount of liquid is in shortage. SOLUTION: In a tissue piece treatment method for successively dipping a plurality of tissue pieces for creating the sample of the tissue pieces, the tissue pieces are dipped into the chemical liquid of a previous process for a specific amount of time again when the amount of one chemical liquid is not sufficient for the treatment of the tissue pieces and the chemical liquid of the previous process of one chemical liquid is of the same type as another chemical liquid and the treatment of the tissue pieces successively continues from the chemical liquid of the next process of one chemical liquid after a specific amount of time passes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for treating a tissue piece in which a plurality of chemicals are sequentially immersed in a tissue piece in order to prepare a microscope specimen, and finally a paraffin or a resin is penetrated into the tissue piece. The present invention also relates to an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus for performing the tissue piece processing method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to prepare a microscopic specimen of a tissue piece, fixing, dehydrating, defatting, replacing, and finally fixing the tissue piece as a pre-process for preparing a sample block by embedding the tissue piece. In general, a tissue piece processing method of permeating paraffin is used. In the method for treating a tissue piece, for example, the amount of the chemical solution for immersing the tissue piece is reduced for some reason, and when the tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution, a part or the whole of the tissue piece is not immersed in the chemical solution. In order to prevent the tissue piece from being exposed to air for a long time and being damaged even in the case, when the liquid volume of a certain chemical solution is insufficient, the chemical solution used in the previous process of the chemical solution with the insufficient liquid volume is used. The tissue piece is immersed again to stop the processing of the tissue piece to avoid damage to the tissue piece.

[0003]

However, the above-mentioned method for treating tissue pieces has the following problems. It takes time to fix the tissue pieces with formalin and finally penetrate the paraffin. For this reason, generally, the worker puts the tissue piece on the above-described tissue piece processing apparatus that automatically performs the tissue piece processing method, finishes the processing of the tissue piece at night, and then goes to work the next morning. Since the coming, the process from preparation of specimen block to staining and encapsulation of the tissue piece in which paraffin has been infiltrated has been performed using an embedded block production device, a microtome, a tissue piece staining device, an encapsulation device, etc.
It uses a method of processing it under a microscope. However, if a situation occurs in which the amount of the chemical solution is insufficient at night, the treatment is interrupted while the tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution in the previous process of the insufficient amount of the chemical solution. The problem is that the processing of the tissue pieces has not been completed, and the processing of the tissue pieces for the preparation of the remaining specimens, such as the preparation of the embedded block of the tissue pieces, the slicing work using a microtome, and the staining work, is not possible. is there. The doctor, etc., who has requested the preparation of the tissue piece, will use the prepared sample to check the tissue piece under a microscope the next day to identify the presence or absence of disease and the name of the disease. Not being able to do it as scheduled is a major problem for doctors, hospitals and even patients.

[0004] On the other hand, depending on the type of chemical used in the treatment of the tissue piece from formalin fixation of the tissue piece to paraffin infiltration, for example, alcohols (such as ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol) used in the dehydration step may be used. It is configured as a chemical solution group composed of a plurality of chemical solutions having different concentrations of alcohol components, and the tissue pieces are immersed in the medical solution in order of increasing concentration. Further, for example, there is a case where a tissue group is constituted by a plurality of chemical solutions having the same concentration, such as xylene used as an intermediate between alcohol and paraffin, and a tissue piece is sequentially immersed in each of the chemical solutions. Therefore, as described above, even when the treatment with one chemical solution cannot be performed due to a shortage of the liquid amount, as described above, if another chemical solution of the same type as this one is present, another one of the same type is used. Attention was paid to the possibility that the treatment of the tissue piece could be continued by using the above chemical solution.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to solve the problem that even if the treatment with one chemical cannot be performed due to a shortage of the liquid, the tissue can be obtained by using another same chemical. An object of the present invention is to provide a tissue piece processing method capable of continuing tissue piece processing on a piece and an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus for executing the tissue piece processing method.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for treating a piece of tissue, wherein the piece of tissue is sequentially immersed in a plurality of chemical solutions to prepare a specimen of the piece of tissue. In the tissue piece processing method, when the amount of one chemical solution is not enough to process the tissue piece, and when the chemical solution in the previous step of the one chemical solution is the same type as the one chemical solution, the tissue piece is It is characterized in that the tissue piece is immersed again in the chemical solution of the previous process for a predetermined time, and after the lapse of the predetermined time, the treatment of the tissue piece is continued from the chemical solution of the next process of one chemical solution.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for treating a tissue piece, wherein the tissue piece is sequentially immersed in a plurality of chemical solutions to prepare a specimen of the tissue piece. In the case where the treatment is not sufficient for the treatment of the tissue piece and the chemical in the next step of the one chemical is the same type as the one chemical,
The method is characterized in that the processing of the tissue pieces is continued sequentially from the chemical solution in the next step without performing the process using one chemical solution.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus for sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of chemicals to prepare a specimen of the tissue pieces. A liquid amount sensor that detects whether the amount is sufficient for processing the tissue piece, a storage unit in which the step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of chemical solutions is stored, and the While detecting the amount of the drug solution to be used for processing the tissue piece, the tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in the drug solution according to the process stored in the storage unit, and that one of the drug solutions is not an amount sufficient for the processing of the tissue piece. If detected, refer to the step of the medicinal solution stored in the storage unit, and if the medicinal solution of the preceding process of the one medicinal solution is of the same type as the one of the medicinal solution, the tissue piece is again added to the medicinal solution of the preceding process for a predetermined time Only after the lapse of the predetermined time, Characterized by comprising a piece of tissue immersed means to continue the sample preparing process of sequential tissue fragments from the liquid.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus for sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of drug solutions to prepare a specimen of the tissue pieces. A liquid amount sensor that detects whether the amount is sufficient for processing the tissue piece, a storage unit in which the step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of chemical solutions is stored, and the While detecting the amount of the drug solution to be used for processing the tissue piece, the tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in the drug solution according to the process stored in the storage unit, and that one of the drug solutions is not an amount sufficient for the processing of the tissue piece. If detected, the process of the chemical stored in the storage unit is referred to, and if the chemical of the next process of the one chemical is of the same type as the one chemical, the next process is performed without performing the process using one chemical. Continue preparation of specimens of tissue pieces sequentially from the chemical solution in the process Characterized by comprising a piece of tissue immersed means that.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic tissue piece treating apparatus for sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of chemicals to prepare a specimen of the tissue piece. A liquid amount sensor that detects whether the amount is sufficient for processing the tissue piece, a storage unit in which the step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of chemical solutions is stored, and the While detecting the amount of the drug solution to be used for processing the tissue piece, the tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in the drug solution according to the process stored in the storage unit, and that one of the drug solutions is not an amount sufficient for the processing of the tissue piece. If detected, refer to the process of the medicinal solution stored in the storage unit, and if the medicinal solution in the previous process of the one medicinal solution is of the same type as the one kind of medicinal solution, until the amount becomes sufficient for processing the tissue piece. Replenish the chemical solution of the previous process, perform immersion for a predetermined time, and Characterized by comprising a piece of tissue immersed means to continue the sample preparing process of sequential tissue pieces from the chemical for the next step one of the chemical after the lapse between. According to the tissue piece processing method and the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus, even if the processing of the tissue piece with one chemical solution cannot be performed due to the insufficient amount of the liquid, the tissue piece using another chemical solution of the same type can be used. One processing can be continued, and the specimen preparation processing can be performed without delay.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of a tissue piece processing method and an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, a tissue piece processing method will be described using a tissue piece processing step shown in FIG. 1 as an example. In this embodiment, the tissue piece treatment refers to a process from fixation of the tissue piece with formalin to permeation of paraffin as shown in the process of FIG. Preparation process of the sample block, slice process of the sample block using a microtome,
The treatment of the tissue piece is also referred to as the process of extending the sample onto a slide glass, drying / staining the sample, and enclosing. First, a description will be given of a normal state where there is no shortage of any liquid medicine. Tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in each of the liquid medicines according to the order of steps 1 to 9 and are treated. Specifically, the tissue piece is fixed in tissue by being immersed in an aqueous formalin solution, dehydrated with ethyl alcohol (may be methyl alcohol), and immersed in xylene as an intermediate for the relay of alcohol and paraffin. Finally, the tissue piece is immersed in paraffin to complete the treatment of the tissue piece.

A feature of the present embodiment is that the amount of one of the chemicals used for the treatment of the tissue piece is not sufficient for the treatment of the tissue piece, and the chemical solution in the preceding process of the one chemical solution is used. Is the same type as the one drug solution, the tissue piece is immersed again in the drug solution of the previous process for a predetermined time, and after this predetermined time has elapsed, the specimen preparation process of the tissue piece is sequentially performed from the drug solution in the next process of the one drug solution. It is to continue. Further, when the chemical solution of the next process of one chemical solution is the same type as the one chemical solution, the processing of the tissue piece may be sequentially continued from the chemical solution of the next process without performing the process using one chemical solution. . Thereby, when the amount of one medical solution is not enough to process the tissue piece, compared to the conventional method in which the tissue piece processing is stopped in a state where the tissue piece is immersed in the chemical solution in the previous step of the one chemical solution, Tissue pieces are processed to the end, increasing the probability of paraffin immersion. Also,
By replenishing a shortage of one chemical solution from a chemical solution of the same type in the previous process, the one medical solution may be increased to an amount sufficient for processing the tissue piece, and the tissue piece may be processed.

A description will be given with a specific example. For example, in the tissue piece processing step of FIG. 1, the description will be made on the assumption that the amount of ethyl alcohol in step 4 is not sufficient to perform the tissue piece processing. In this case, in the past, the tissue piece was returned and immersed in step 3 which is the previous step of step 4, and the treatment of the tissue piece was stopped, but in the present embodiment, step 3 is the same type as the chemical solution in step 4. Therefore, the tissue piece is immersed again in the chemical solution of the previous step 3 for a predetermined time, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the processing of the tissue piece is continued from the chemical solution in the next step 5 of the step 4. Here, the predetermined time is set in consideration of the difference between the respective concentrations D ₃ and D ₄ of the chemical solution in Step 3 and Step 4, and as an example, is set to the same time as the tissue piece immersion time T _{4 in} Step 4. You may do it.
In the tissue piece processing step, the same chemical solution as that in the step 4 is used in the step 5. Therefore, instead of the above-mentioned method of processing the tissue piece again returning to the step 3, the processing of the tissue piece may be continued from the chemical solution of the next step 5 successively after the step 3 without performing the step 4. At this time, similarly to the processing method returning to the step 3, it is possible to immerse the tissue piece in the drug solution for as long as the step 4 is not performed in the step 5. Further, the chemical solution of step 3 is replenished to the chemical solution of step 4 until it is detected by the liquid amount sensor, so that the amount of the chemical solution of step 4 is sufficient for the treatment of the tissue piece. The processing of the tissue piece may be performed by using this. In this case as well, the predetermined time for immersion is desirably set in consideration of the difference between the respective concentrations D ₃ and D ₄ of the chemical solution, but may be the same as the immersion time T ₄ for the tissue piece in step 4.

This can be applied not only to the case of ethyl alcohol but also to the case of other chemicals in which the same kind of chemical is used in a plurality of continuous steps, formalin aqueous solution, xylene, and paraffin as in the case of ethyl alcohol. . However, if the amount of the chemical solution (xylene) in step 6 is insufficient, the chemical solution used in the previous step 5 of the step 6 is ethyl alcohol different from xylene, and therefore, it is necessary to return to the previous step 5 again. Since the next step 7 is the same kind of xylene, the processing of the tissue piece is continued from the chemical solution of the next step 7 in succession to the step 5 without performing the step 6. In this step 7, the normal immersion time may be used, but it is also possible to make the immersion longer than the normal immersion time by the amount of step 6 that was not performed. Further, even in the case of the same xylene, when the amount of the chemical solution in the step 7 is insufficient, the chemical solution used in the next step 8 of the step 7 is a paraffin different from xylene, so that the process proceeds to the next step 8. Since the previous step 6 is the same type of xylene, the step 6 is performed again, the tissue piece is immersed in xylene for a predetermined time, and then the next step is performed without performing the step 7. The treatment of the tissue piece is continued sequentially from the liquid medicine of No. 8. The same applies to the case of a formalin aqueous solution or paraffin in which the same kind of chemical solution has only two steps.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the number of the liquid chemicals is one, but when two or more different types of chemicals are insufficient, the chemicals of the same kind as the respective liquids are used. What is necessary is just to perform each process in the process before and after as described above.

Next, an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus which can carry out the above-described tissue piece processing method will be described. The automatic tissue piece processing apparatus performs this tissue piece processing by sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of chemical solutions. First, as an example, FIG.
The configuration of the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 10 of the tank type will be described. The processing tank 12 is for storing the tissue piece 14. The chemical liquid tank 16 is provided for each chemical liquid. The rotary valve 18 is disposed between the processing tank 12 and the chemical tank 16, and is connected to the processing tank 12 and the chemical tank 16 by a pipe. Then, one chemical solution tank 16 is selectively switched to be connected to the processing tank 12. The switching is performed by the electric motor 20.

The liquid amount sensor 22 indicates that the amount of each chemical is
4 has a function of detecting whether or not the amount is sufficient for the processing of 4. Since the present embodiment is a one-tank type, the liquid amount sensor 22 is provided in the processing tank 12 in which the tissue piece 14 is stored, and when the chemical is sent from the chemical tank 16 in which each chemical is stored to the processing tank 12. In this case, the liquid amount is detected so that only one liquid amount sensor 22 is required. In addition, processing tank 1
In order to be able to detect the liquid amount before sending the liquid chemical to the second liquid tank 2, a liquid amount sensor 22 may be provided for each chemical liquid tank 16.

The storage unit 24 is configured using a semiconductor memory such as a ROM or a RAM, and stores a process of immersing the tissue piece 14 in each chemical solution. The tissue piece immersion means includes the electric motor 20 described above, the rotary valve 18, and the treatment tank 12.
The inside of the processing tank 12 is evacuated to make the inside of the processing tank 12 a negative pressure, or the compressed air is sent into the processing tank 12 to pressurize the inside of the processing tank 12, so that the chemical is transferred from the chemical tank 16 to the processing tank 12. It comprises a pump 26 having a function of supplying and, conversely, returning the chemical solution in the processing tank 12 to the chemical solution tank 16, and a control unit 28 configured using a computer. The computer operates according to an operation program recorded in the storage unit 24 in advance, for example. Operation unit 3
0 has a function of inputting control data such as an operation start instruction to the control unit 28.

Next, the operation of the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. When the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 10 is started, the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 10 waits for data indicating that the tissue piece 14 is stored in the processing tank 12 via the operation unit 30 to be input from the operation unit 30 (S100). When the data is input, a parameter N indicating a process (N is represented by, for example, a natural number or an integer) is initialized (S102), and the tissue piece 1
The tissue piece processing step 4 using the chemical solution is started. First, general processing steps will be described. First, the control unit 28 of the tissue piece immersion means stores the processing data on the process N (the type of the chemical solution to be supplied to the processing tank 12, the immersion time,
The temperature of the chemical solution, etc.) is read (S104).

The control unit 28 switches the rotary valve 18 via the electric motor 20 in accordance with the read processing data so that the chemical tank 16 containing the specified chemical and the processing tank 12 communicate with each other. After that, the pump 26
To make the inside of the processing tank 12 a negative pressure,
Is supplied into the processing tank 12 from step (S106). When the supply operation is completed, the processing tank 12
The liquid amount in the inside is checked (S108). If the fluid volume is equal to or greater than the specified volume, that is, if the fluid volume enough to completely immerse the tissue piece 14 has been secured, the control unit 28 uses a timer function provided therein to determine the fluid volume in advance. The tissue piece is dipped for the set dipping time (S110).

When the immersion time is over, the control unit 28 operates the pump 26 to pressurize the inside of the processing tank 12 to discharge the chemical in the processing tank 12 and return it to the original chemical tank 16 (S
112). The control unit 28 checks whether or not the currently performed process is the last process of the tissue piece processing process (S11).
4) If it is the last step, the processing operation is normally terminated (S116). If the process remains, the parameter N indicating the process is incremented (S11).
8) Returning to S104, until S104 is completed.
Steps S118 to S118 are repeated. The above is the operation of a general normal processing step.

Next, the case where the chemical supplied to the processing tank 12 does not reach the specified amount in S108 will be described. In the conventional method, in this case, after returning the chemical solution that has not reached the specified amount to the original chemical solution tank, the chemical solution used in the previous process of the process in which the chemical solution is insufficient is again supplied to the processing tank 12 to remove the tissue piece. Although the processing was stopped in the state of being immersed in the chemical solution, the characteristic feature of the tissue piece processing of the present embodiment is that a step surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. 3 is added. That is, in S108, when the chemical solution of one process N does not reach the specified amount, the control unit 28 returns the chemical solution of the process N that did not reach the specified amount from the processing tank 12 to the original chemical solution tank (S120). Then, the process data of the processes before and after the process N (the process N-1 and the process N + 1) are read from the storage unit 24 (S122).

Then, first, in the previous step N-1, step N
It is checked whether or not the same type of chemical solution as that used in (1) is used (S124). As a result, when the chemicals are of the same type, the chemical used in the previous step N-1 is supplied from the chemical tank into the treatment tank 12, and the tissue piece 14 is processed with the chemical (S126). Transition. Thereby, the process of the previous process N-1 is performed again instead of the process N without performing the process of the process N, and then the process of the next process N +
1 is performed. Note that the processing time in S126 may be set to the same time as the immersion time of the tissue piece 14 in the process N. However, in consideration of the concentration of each chemical solution used in the process N and the previous process N-1, the process time may be set. When the concentration of the N chemical solution is high, the immersion time is set to be longer than the normal immersion time in the process N because the immersion time is set to a low concentration. When the chemical solution in step N is used, this S
In step 126, the same type of chemical solution as in the previous step N-1 is added to step N
And the tissue solution 14 is processed using the chemical solution of step N.

In step S124, if the chemicals in the pre-process N-1 and the process N are different, the control unit 28
At +1 it is checked whether the same type of chemical solution as that used in step N is used (S128). As a result, if the liquids are of the same type, the process proceeds to S114 after this processing. As a result, the process of the next process N + 1 is performed next without performing the process of the process N. in this way,
Even if the treatment with one chemical solution is not possible due to insufficient liquid volume, if the same chemical solution is checked before and after the process using the one chemical solution and the same, the other similar type Tissue piece processing of the tissue piece can be continued using the chemical solution, and processing (sample block preparation processing and the like) on the tissue piece subsequent to this processing can be performed without delay. In addition,
In S128, the chemical used in the next step N + 1 is
If it is different from the one used in step S1, the chemical used in the previous step N-1 is supplied to the treatment tank 12 to immerse the tissue piece in the processing tank 12 (S130), and an error message is displayed (S130).
132) The process is stopped (S134). However, as described above, when the chemical solution in the previous or next step is the same, the tissue piece processing can be continued, so that it is clear that the probability that the specimen preparation processing of the microscope can be completed without interruption is improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the processing tank 1
2 has been described as the case where the tissue piece is processed by sequentially supplying and discharging the chemical solution to the processing tank 12, but the processing tank 12 as shown in FIG. 4 is separately provided for each chemical solution. The present invention can be similarly applied to a multi-tank type in which the tissue piece 14 is sequentially moved between the processing tanks 12 in a predetermined order by the transport means 32 controlled by the control unit 28 and is immersed in the chemical solution. In this case, the liquid amount sensor 22
Is provided for each chemical solution tank 16. The storage unit 24 has a function similar to that of the above-described embodiment. The operation in the case of the multi-tank type is substantially the same as the flow shown in FIG. 3, and in S106, S112, and S126, instead of the supply / discharge operation of the chemical solution, the transfer of the tissue piece 14 between the processing tanks 12 by the transport means 32. A moving operation is performed.

As described above, various preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Instead of the above-described processing method combining S124 and S128, S124 or S12
Of course, many modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention, such as a processing method that implements only one of the eight methods.

[0027]

According to the tissue piece processing method and the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus of the present invention, even if the processing with one chemical solution cannot be performed due to the shortage of the liquid amount, the process is performed before the step of using one chemical solution. If the chemical used in the process or the next process is the same, the same type of other chemicals used in the previous process and the next process can be used to continue the treatment of the tissue piece, and the sample of the tissue piece can be used. There is an effect that the production can be performed without delay.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a process chart showing an example of a tissue piece processing step.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment (one-tank type) of an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a tissue piece processing operation of the automatic tissue piece processing apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment (multi-tank type) of an automatic tissue piece processing apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Automatic tissue piece processing apparatus 12 Processing tank 14 Tissue piece 16 Chemical liquid tank 18 Rotary valve 22 Liquid quantity sensor 24 Storage part 28 Control part

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for treating a tissue piece, wherein the tissue piece is sequentially immersed in a plurality of chemical solutions to prepare a specimen of the tissue piece, wherein the amount of one chemical solution is not sufficient for treating the tissue piece. When the chemical solution of the previous process of the chemical solution is the same type as the one chemical solution, the tissue piece is immersed again in the chemical solution of the previous process for a predetermined time, and after the predetermined time has elapsed, the tissue solution is removed from the chemical solution of the next process of the one chemical solution. A tissue piece processing method, wherein processing of a tissue piece is sequentially continued. 2. A method for treating a piece of tissue, wherein the piece of tissue is sequentially immersed in a plurality of chemical solutions to prepare a specimen of the piece of tissue, wherein the amount of one drug solution is not sufficient to treat the piece of tissue. When the chemical in the next step of the chemical is the same type as the one chemical, the processing of the tissue is continued from the chemical in the next step sequentially without performing the step with the one chemical. Processing method. 3. An automatic tissue piece processing apparatus for sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of drug solutions to perform a specimen preparation process on the tissue pieces, wherein an amount of the drug solution is sufficient for processing the tissue pieces. A storage unit storing a step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of drug solutions; and detecting an amount of the drug solution to be used for processing the tissue piece via the liquid volume sensor. The tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in the chemical solution according to the process stored in the storage unit while performing the process of the chemical solution stored in the storage unit when it is detected that one of the chemical solutions is not sufficient to process the tissue piece. For reference, when the chemical solution in the previous process of the one chemical solution is of the same type as the one chemical solution, the tissue piece is immersed again in the chemical solution in the previous process for a predetermined time, and after the predetermined time, the next process of the one chemical solution is performed. Tissue pieces that continue to be prepared sequentially from the drug solution An automatic tissue piece processing apparatus, comprising: an immersion means. 4. An automatic tissue piece processing apparatus for sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of drug solutions to perform a specimen preparation process on the tissue pieces, wherein an amount of the drug solution is sufficient for processing the tissue pieces. A storage unit storing a step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of drug solutions; and detecting an amount of the drug solution to be used for processing the tissue piece via the liquid volume sensor. The tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in the chemical solution according to the process stored in the storage unit while performing the process of the chemical solution stored in the storage unit when it is detected that one of the chemical solutions is not sufficient to process the tissue piece. Refer to, if the chemical solution in the next step of the one chemical solution is the same type as the one chemical solution, the tissue for which the specimen preparation process of the tissue piece is sequentially continued from the next chemical solution without performing the process using the one chemical solution Self-immersion means, Moving tissue piece processing equipment. 5. An automatic tissue piece processing apparatus for sequentially immersing tissue pieces in a plurality of drug solutions to prepare a sample of the tissue pieces, wherein whether the amount of the drug solution is sufficient for processing the tissue pieces or not. A storage unit storing a step of immersing the tissue piece in the plurality of drug solutions; and detecting an amount of the drug solution to be used for processing the tissue piece via the liquid volume sensor. The tissue pieces are sequentially immersed in the chemical solution according to the process stored in the storage unit while performing the process of the chemical solution stored in the storage unit when it is detected that one of the chemical solutions is not sufficient to process the tissue piece. See, if the chemical solution in the pre-process of the one chemical solution is of the same type as the one chemical solution, perform the immersion for a predetermined time by replenishing the chemical solution in the pre-process until a sufficient amount for processing the tissue piece, After the elapse of the predetermined time, the tissue pieces are sequentially arranged from the chemical solution in the next process of one chemical solution. And a tissue piece immersion means for continuing the specimen preparation process.