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Related Concept Videos

Fixation and Sectioning01:03

Fixation and Sectioning

Two basic types of preparation are used to visualize specimens with a light microscope: wet mounts and fixed specimens.
The simplest type of preparation is the wet mount, in which the specimen is placed in a drop of liquid on the slide. A liquid specimen can be directly deposited on the slide using a dropper. Solid specimens, such as skin scraping, can be placed on the slide before adding a drop of liquid to prepare the wet mount. Sometimes the liquid is simply water, but stains are often added...

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Sectioning of brain tissues.

Carol Ann Paul, Barbara Beltz, Joanne Berger-Sweeney

    CSH Protocols
    |March 2, 2011
    PubMed
    Summary
    This summary is machine-generated.

    Brain sectioning requires freezing for uniform slices. While microtomes offer manual control, cryostats provide automated, temperature-controlled sectioning for improved consistency.

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    Area of Science:

    • Neuroscience
    • Histology

    Background:

    • Brain fixation alone does not provide sufficient hardness for thin sectioning.
    • Achieving uniform, thin brain sections necessitates freezing the tissue.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To introduce and compare methods for preparing brain tissue for thin sectioning.
    • To highlight the advantages of cryosectioning over traditional microtomy for brain tissue.

    Main Methods:

    • Manual sectioning using a microtome with a dry ice-cooled platform.
    • Automated sectioning using a cryostat maintained at -20°C.

    Main Results:

    • Microtomes can produce consistent sections, but platform temperature fluctuations can affect quality.
    • Cryostats offer controlled temperature (-20°C) and automated sectioning for enhanced consistency and quality.

    Conclusions:

    • Freezing is essential for obtaining uniform brain sections.
    • Cryostats provide superior temperature control and automation for high-quality brain sectioning compared to microtomes.