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HISTOLOGY FUNDAMENTALS Articles

Suggested procedures for processing fixed tissue

By National Diagnostics | May 20, 2014 | Comments Off on Suggested procedures for processing fixed tissue

Here are a few guidelines which you can use to process fixed tissue using Histo-Clear and Histo-Clear II: Histo-Clear Automated Tissue Processing Schedule Process Bath 18 Hour Cycle (Time in Hours) 24 Hour Cycle (Time…

Staining Procedures

By National Diagnostics | October 5, 2011 | Comments Off on Staining Procedures

Most dyes used to visualize the membranes and organelles of the cell are water soluble. The embedded wax must therefore be removed prior to staining. This is done by effectively reversing the tissue processing schedule.…

Mounting Tissue Sections

By National Diagnostics | September 30, 2011 | Comments Off on Mounting Tissue Sections

To preserve and support a stained section for light microscopy, it is mounted on a clear glass slide, and covered with a thin glass coverslip. The slide and coverslip must be free of optical distortions,…

The Chemistry of Dyes and Staining

By National Diagnostics | September 26, 2011 | Comments Off on The Chemistry of Dyes and Staining

Histological staining involves the use of dyes to highlight specific intra- or extracellular elements within tissue. A vast array of dyes and associated staining protocols exist in use. Each dye is targeted toward different cellular…

Artifacts in Histologic Sections

By National Diagnostics | September 26, 2011 | Comments Off on Artifacts in Histologic Sections

Artifacts that appear in stained slides may result from a number of causes including improper fixation, the type of fixative, poor dehydration, improper reagents, or poor microtome sectioning. The presence of a fine black precipitate…

Sectioning

By National Diagnostics | September 26, 2011 | Comments Off on Sectioning

Once embedded, tissues are cut into thin sections ready to be placed on a slide. This is done with a microtome, an apparatus for feeding the blocks past an ultrasharp blade with micron level precision.…

Embedding

By National Diagnostics | September 26, 2011 | Comments Off on Embedding

For mechanical support during the sectioning process, tissue must be infiltrated with an embedding medium. The usual embedding media are paraffin for light microscopy and an epoxy resin for EM samples. Paraffins are available that…

Clearing Tissue Sections

By National Diagnostics | September 26, 2011 | Comments Off on Clearing Tissue Sections

The step following dehydration is called “clearing” and consists of replacing the dehydrant with a substance that will be miscible with the embedding medium (paraffin). The term “clearing” comes from the fact that the clearing…

Dehydration

By National Diagnostics | September 26, 2011 | Comments Off on Dehydration

Dehydration is usually carried out by transferring the tissue through solutions of increasing alcohol concentration, until 100% alcohol is reached. Sometimes the first step is a mixture of formalin and alcohol. Other dehydrants can be…

Overview of the Paraffin Technique

By National Diagnostics | September 26, 2011 | Comments Off on Overview of the Paraffin Technique

Once fixed, the tissue must be treated to allow the cutting of the thin sections required for viewing under the microscope. The procedures designed to prepare the tissue for sectioning are collectively known as tissue…