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Artefacts are commonplace in histopathology and can occur at any point in the specimen pathway. Strictly, they are defined as ‘an artificial stricture of tissue alteration of a prepared microscopic slide as a result of an extraneous factor’.1 Although many of these artefacts are commonly recognised by pathologists, some cause great diagnostic difficulties and either require remedial measures to correct the artefact or a cautious caveat on histopathological reports.