The materials of Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Pathology Department Collection (PDC) relate to the activities of this Department as 1984, and include biological materials and documents related to human materials and experiment animals. Based on more than 16 thousand cases, the collection has a great number of pieces preserved in formaldehyde solution, paraffin blocks (65 thousand), slides with stained histological sections (240 thousand), forms used to sent materials to the Histotechnology Sector of the Department, and analogical and digital images of pieces in formaldehyde solution and histological preparations (more than 500 thousand images). Such materials hold a history of more than 25 years of scientific research, which provides important information on diseases, such as schistosomiasis and angiostrongyliasis, as well as human physiology, as in hematopoiesis.

PDC History

The history of the Pathology Department Collection began with the "transformation" of the Anatomical Pathology Division in the Pathology Department. This occurred in 1979 when José Rodrigues Coura became responsible for the Research Vice-Presidency of the Foundation (Instituto Oswaldo Cruz - IOC was transformed in Fiocruz in 1976) and the management of the Institute made a proposal to Fiocruz management to reorganise IOC (now a unit of Fiocruz) into departments. In 1981, the Pathology Department was restructured and Gomes de Faria Pavilion was installed in a building existing until now. In 1984, Henrique Leonel Lenzi and Jane Guilhermina Arnt Lenzi, who had returned from Harvard after three years, became part of the Pathology Department team as researchers, after invitation of Professor Coura. From this moment on, the restructuring of the Department was initiated for the purposes of rescuing the initial philosophy of Escola de Manguinhos, but in a modern and more dynamic manner. For this, the following objectives were identified:

• a) studying of human pathology associated to infectious and parasitic diseases;

• b) studying of experimental models, using all technical, adequate and available resources of modern experimental pathology in order to gain knowledge on the pathogenesis of infectious and parasitic diseases; andc) qualifying competent human resources for conducting research and advanced diagnosis techniques; and,

  c) training personnel responsible for performing research and advanced diagnostic techniques.

The first fifteen years of the Pathology Department (PD/IOC) focused on satisfying these objectives and creating a basic infrastructure for conducting Pathology works. Additionally, as of 1985, the Department became responsible for protecting the Collections of macroscopic pieces of the Pathology Museum (currently named Anatomical Pathology Section Collection of IOC), and all materials from the Yellow Fever Collection.

The materials produced by the Histotechnology Sector of IOC Pathology Department (Histolab), from assays conducted in the Department, have been gathered since 1984 to form IOC Pathology Department Collection (PDC). This Collection is in constant expansion, as a result of the great number of materials necessary for scientific works, monographs, dissertations, and thesis in experimental Pathology and Hematology. The biological materials of PDC include materials obtained from approximately 20,000 cases of animals used in Experimental Pathology assays in the Department, as well as human materials from external origins. The materials have registration numbers that allow traceability of pieces, blocks and slides in each case, and it is possible to retrieve information about the assays conducted through the documents filed. It is also possible to bind such data to bibliographical production in articles, thesis or dissertations. The Collection also has studies conducted with human material, sent for consulting and diagnosis purposes. The human material is registered with different numbers, and can be easily identified and studied based on existing data.

This Collection is currently located in IOC Pathology Laboratory (the organisational structure of IOC was reviewed in 2005, and no longer has Departments), in Gomes de Faria Pavilion, Manguinhos Campus. The Collection represents the living memory (biological and documental) of teaching activities, research and consulting conducted by this research group for more than 25 years, and it is a rare and inestimable collection.

The major lines of research of the Department, which originated the PDC, developed since 1984 and still active today, now in the Pathology Laboratory, are:

• 1) Pathology, immunopathology, and pathogenesis of infectious and parasitic diseases (local and systemic reactions);

• 2) Physiology, ontogeny and phylogeny of the lymphatic and hematopoietic system, including biology and plasticity of stem cells; and

• 3) Development of techniques for high resolution photonic microscopy, especially laser confocal microscopy, and low vacuum scanning electronic microscopy.

Previous Contribution

In this Collection, we found obtained, produced and studied materials that allowed IOC Pathology Department to offer major scientific contributions between 1984 and 2007. In the light of the permanent character of the Collection, it can be accessed at any time for new analyses and/or production of new data. Among such contributions, we can name some:

• - Finding of a Trypanosoma cruzi cycle in anal glands of Didelphis marsupialis, which is similar to the one existing in invertebrate hosts (in cooperation with the Protozoology Department/IOC);

• - Description of a lymphomieloid organ associated to celomatic cavities and its participation in many parasitic infections;

• - Proposition of a complex mechanism for eliminating Schistosoma mansoni eggs for mice intestinal lumen;

• - Morphogenetic and multidisciplinary approach in the participation of extracellular matrix components and adhesion molecules in lesions of different etiologies, especially schistosomotic granulomas;

• - Introduction to Calomys callosus cricetid rodent as experimental model for murine mansonic schistosomiasis pathology study due to the peculiarities of the mice model;

• - New description of Angiostrongylus costaricensis migration route in its intermediate and definite hosts (in cooperation with the Intestinal Helminthiasis Laboratory, CPqRR/Fiocruz), as well as deepening of the human/experimental pathology study of abdominal angiostrongyliasis, a disease caused by this helminth;

• - Sequential histological study of intra-bone marrow hematopoietic tissue lesions under ionizing radiation (work of a Scientific Vocation student, awarded second place in the 21st Young Scientist Award - High School Student Category, in 2005);

• - Sequential histology description of lymphatic and hematopoietic system assembly in mice during the gestational period, with evidence of sites of hematopoietic stem-cell generation and migration, and establishment and proliferation sites of these cells. Observation of mature neutrophilic cell migration before the establishment of hematopoietic progenitors in the bone marrow (paper awarded during the 14th International Symposium about Recent Advancements in Stem-Cell Transplants, Heidelberg, Germany, 2007);

• - Characterization of freshwater sponges as etiological agents of eye lesion, from human cases recorded in Tocantins in 2006 (in cooperation with many national groups);

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PDC Mission and Vision

Mission:

Protect the material inheritance of the "Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Pathology Department Collection" (PDC), composed of human and animal materials used in experiments conducted by the Department as of 1984; and search for development opportunities and collaborative activities focused on scientific research within the biological and documental collection, supporting the scientific promotion of the Pathology Museum.

Vision:

Restructure, organise and modernise IOC Pathology Department Collection (PDC), transforming it in an informatised collection for scientific knowledge sharing among visiting researchers. Develop multidisciplinary research within the materials of the collection, seeking for national and international partnerships.

Team

The work team is a multidisciplinary team, with expertise in pathology, tissue processing, molecular biology, handling and informatisation of biological collections, virology, Brazilian history, analysis of historical documents, image processing, and scientific video production.