Microtomy

Question 1

microtomy

Answer 1

cutting thin slices of tissue for microscopic examination

Question 2

micron

Answer 2

one one-thousandth of a millimeter, 10^-6m or 10^-3mm 0.001mm

Question 3

bevel angle

Answer 3

the angle at which the two surfaces of a blade meet, typically 28-32 degrees

Question 4

clearance angle

Answer 4

the angle between the blade and the surface of the block, optimally 3-8 degrees

Question 5

flotation bath

Answer 5

floats out ribbons of tissue to be picked up on a charged glass slide

Question 6

crooked ribbons

Answer 6

horizontal edges aren’t parallel, check for even chilling

Question 7

too thick sections

Answer 7

change clearance angle

Question 8

too thin sections

Answer 8

change clearance angle

Question 9

compressed sections

Answer 9

too little blade tilt

Question 10

Venetian blind effect/chatter

Answer 10

too much blade tilt, overdehydration, cutting too fast, dull blade, face block then soak

Question 11

knife marks

Answer 11

move to fresh section of blade

Question 12

failure to form a ribbon

Answer 12

dull blade, too much or too little blade tilt

Question 13

holes in the ribbon

Answer 13

check for nicks in the blade, may have sectioned too aggressively, soak to rehydrate

Question 14

block is sectioning unevenly

Answer 14

check orientation for parallel alignment

Question 15

scratches in the ribbon

Answer 15

check for damage to the blade, shift to a new area

Question 16

skipped sections

Answer 16

inconsistent speed in sectioning

Question 17

washboarding

Answer 17

uterus or overfixed tissue

Question 18

section fly away

Answer 18

static electricity, wipe down the microtome with a dryer sheet

Question 19

sliding microtome

Answer 19

used for sectioning celloidin and large paraffin blocks, not used in routine histopathology

Question 20

clinical freezing microtome

Answer 20

mostly replaced by the cryostat; can be used for obtaining free floating sections required for some special stains

Question 21

ultramicrotome

Answer 21

used in EM, cuts sections 50-90nm thin

Question 22

mushy sections

Answer 22

incomplete dehydration and clearing

Question 23

parched earth artifact

Answer 23

flotation bath is too hot