基因组技术的进步使得大量人类疾病的小鼠模型得以开发，需要准确的表型分析来揭示基因操纵的后果。解剖病理学是小鼠表型分析流程中的重要组成部分，理想情况下应由人类或兽医病理学家执行；然而，由于没有足够数量的合格病理学家来形态学评估这些小鼠模型，研究科学家可能会进行“自助式”病理学，导致诊断错误。在生物医学文献中，病理学数据通常以组织切片图像的形式呈现，使用hematoxylin和eosin或抗体通过免疫组织化学染色，附带有图例。在这些图像和图例中呈现的数据可能存在不准确性。此外，对于非病理学家研究科学家来说，关于研究出版物中理想病理学图像和图例所需要素的指导有限。本概述概述了理想病理学图像和图例的组成部分，包括图像质量、图像构图和图像解读。背景知识对于制作准确的病理学图像和在文献中进行批判评估这些图像至关重要。这些基础知识包括了解相关的人体和小鼠解剖学和组织学，以及对于癌症研究者来说，了解人类和小鼠肿瘤分类和形态学、小鼠染色背景病变以及组织处理伪影。准确解读免疫组织化学也非常重要，并详细介绍了组织对照的要求以及染色的分布、强度和胞内位置的重点。概述了免疫组织化学解读中常见的陷阱，并提供了一个问题清单，可以用来对任何病理学图像进行批判性检查。鼓励与病理学同事合作。本概述旨在使研究人员能够批判性评估文献中病理学图像的质量和准确性，以提高已发表的病理学数据的可靠性和可重复性。© 2023 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Advances in genomic technologies have enabled the development of abundant mouse models of human disease, requiring accurate phenotyping to elucidate the consequences of genetic manipulation. Anatomic pathology, an important component of the mouse phenotyping pipeline, is ideally performed by human or veterinary pathologists; however, due to insufficient numbers of pathologists qualified to assess these mouse models morphologically, research scientists may perform "do-it-yourself" pathology, resulting in diagnostic error. In the biomedical literature, pathology data is commonly presented as images of tissue sections, stained with either hematoxylin and eosin or antibodies via immunohistochemistry, accompanied by a figure legend. Data presented in such images and figure legends may contain inaccuracies. Furthermore, there is limited guidance for non-pathologist research scientists concerning the elements required in an ideal pathology image and figure legend in a research publication. In this overview, the components of an ideal pathology image and figure legend are outlined and comprise image quality, image composition, and image interpretation. Background knowledge is important for producing accurate pathology images and critically assessing these images in the literature. This foundational knowledge includes understanding relevant human and mouse anatomy and histology and, for cancer researchers, an understanding of human and mouse tumor classification and morphology, mouse stain background lesions, and tissue processing artifacts. Accurate interpretation of immunohistochemistry is also vitally important and is detailed with emphasis on the requirement for tissue controls and the distribution, intensity, and intracellular location of staining. Common pitfalls in immunohistochemistry interpretation are outlined, and a checklist of questions is provided by which any pathology image may be critically examined. Collaboration with pathologist colleagues is encouraged. This overview aims to equip researchers to critically assess the quality and accuracy of pathology images in the literature to improve the reliability and reproducibility of published pathology data. © 2023 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.© 2023 The Authors. Current Protocols published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.