surgical margin

Pathology

• histological assessment of normal tissue surrounding tumor visible on light microscopy
• width of normal tissue excised during surgical excision of lesion (especially tumor)
• if the margins do NOT contain extension(s) of the lesion (tumor cells), the margins are said to be clean or free

More specific terms

• clear margin
• closest surgical margin when margins clear in colorectal cancer
• depth of deep margin in cutaneous melanoma
• distance of carcinoma from surgical margin
• surgical margin DCIS involvement in breast cancer
• surgical margin involvement in breast cancer specimen
• surgical margin tumor involvement in colorectal cancer
• surgical margin tumor involvement in cutaneous melanoma