1. A method for handling pathology samples, comprising: receiving a set of unordered pathology samples, each pathology sample having an identifier including multiple designation values provided in respective multiple designation fields; and sorting the pathology samples into multiple sets of bins defined at respective physical locations on a sorting apparatus, each set of bins defined for a different one of the multiple designation fields, each individual bin in each set of bins providing a sorting location for a different value range of the designation field provided for the respective set of bins.