Arnold Levene was a pathologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital who developed the technique of frozen section, meaning tissue samples could be analysed during operations. He was born on 7 December 1924 in Kingston upon Hull, the son of Solomon Levene, a Polish immigrant who became a commercial traveller. His mother was the daughter of a rabbi. He was educated in Hackney and then at University College Hospital, where he was the Magrath surgical scholar, the Wait fellow and the John Marshall fellow in surgical pathology. After junior posts at UCH, he obtained the FRCS, intending to become a surgeon, but developed tuberculosis, lost half a lung, and took up pathology, becoming a lecturer at UCH. He was appointed as a consultant to the Royal Marsden Hospital, where he would often turn up at operations and became a much sought after expert in tumour pathology. Among his many interests was the malignant melanoma which afflicts grey horses, and he was soon "the world's leading authority on horses' arses" - to use his own phrase. He carried out many of his studies in the Horse Guards' Barracks in London. He used to say that the difference between a vet and a doctor was that all vets liked their patients. He was active as a coroner's pathologist for Beckenham and Bromley, and in time became a formidable expert witness in medico-legal cases. A gifted linguist, Arnold taught himself enough Italian to chair a meeting in Milan, which led to a life-long interest in Italy and its culture. He married Leatrice née Jacobs in 1951 and they had one son and four daughters. He died suddenly on his way to synagogue on 18 July 1998.