Comparative evaluation of various histological techniques for the rapid diagnosis of brain tumours

Intraoperative procedures for the rapid histological diagnosis of space occupying intracranial processes are required. These currently include three major techniques: 1. crush preparations; 2. frozen sections with prefixation, and 3. frozen sections without prefixation. We have compared these techniques, using identical tissue material. While frozen sections of samples subjected to rapid fixation produce the best specimens, crush preparations are preferred wherever a well equipped laboratory is not available.