Thanks to all who replied as to what this was about, so that the rest of the world might know.

I have been very conscious of this type of problem for years, and more so since I became a certified old fart, with seborroeic warts, skin tags, and a lessening ability to see close up without reading glasses.
Now, it is a fact that I cannot read slide labels or request forms without glasses, and putting these on between slides is a *huge* inconvenience. 
I have made the same mistake, but caught it in time, on numerous occasions. One of the biggest problems re. labelling is the use of dot-matrix printers for patient labels, years after the printer has run dry of ink!
Having tried to get this remedied and failed, one has to wonder what is going on in the world. People don't seem to want to take measures to avoid mistakes.

Only a few years ago, I had to give a small talk on "getting it right in the laboratory" for a job interview. 
One of the points I made is that same names should be widely separated as they go through the lab. (Amazing how same names crop up together so frequently).
When I aid this, every single listener looked at me as if I had come from Mars!

As for the pathologist  - there but for the grace of God go I.


Terry L Marshall B.A.(Law), M.B.Ch.B., F.R.C.Path
Consultant Histopathologist
Rotherham General Hospital, Yorkshire
terry.marshall@rothgen.nhs.uk