Bone Flashcards
What are the three kinds of bone?
- Compact bone
- Spongy Bone
- Subchondral tissue
What are the three types of cells found in bone?
- Osteoblast (New bone)
- Osteoclast (Break bone)
- Osteocyte (Maintenance)
When decalcifying bone what size of tissue sections should be used ?
4 mm
What are strong acid decalcifiers?
- Nitric acid
- Hydrochloric acid
- Formic acid
What can be added to Nitric acid that has yellowed?
0.1% Urea
Which strong acid is most often used for bone decalcification?
Formic acid because it’s much more gentle.
What are the 8 methods for decalcifying bone?
- Strong acids
- Thrichloroacetic acid
- acetic acid
- Chelating agent
- Ion exchange resins
- buffer solutions
- Electrolytic decalcification
- Surface decalcification
What are 5 factors influencing bone decalcification?
- Volume
- Concentration
- Temperature
- Agitation
- Amount of calcium present
What are the 5 endpoint tests when determining if bone has been fully decalcified?
- Manual
- Weight loss/Gain
- Bubble test
- X-ray
- Chemical
What embedding medium is commonly used in undecalcified bone?
Glycol Methylcrylate
What are ideal fixatives to use for undecalcified bone?
- Alcohol
- NBF
- Calcium formol
Following decalcification how can the acid be neutralized?
Lithium carbonate
How can bone dust be minimized?
- Use a Diamond blade when sawing
Which end point tests are the most dependable?
- Chemical
- X-ray
What is the primary purpose of decalcifying bone?
Soften bone for microscopic examination by removing mineral contents of the bone sample.
What is the effect of over decalcifying on tissue sections?
Loss of basophilic staining
