mounting Flashcards
✓ after staining, the section is mounted under a coverslip using a suitable
medium
mounting
✓ uses a syrupy fluid referred to as a mountant or mounting medium
mounting
purposes of mounting
- protects the specimen from physical injury
- protects the section from bleaching or deterioration due to oxidation
- preserves slides for permanent keeping
- facilitates easy handling and storage
sealing margins of the coverslip
ringing
uses Kronig cement
ringing
composition of Kronig cement
2 parts paraffin + 4-9 parts powdered colophonium resin
Characteristics of a Good Mounting Medium
- to avoid distortion of the image, the refractive index of the mountant should be as
near as possible to that of the glass which is 1.518. - it should not dry quickly.
- It should not dissolve out or fade tissue sections
- It should not cause shrinkage and distortion of tissues.
- It should set hard, thereby producing permanent mounting of sections.
types of mounting media
- Aqueous media
- Resinous media
types of aqueous media
- H2O
- glycerin
- glycerin jelly
- farrant’s medium
- Apathy’s medium
- Brun’s fluid
Has a low refractive index (1.33), moderately transparent and
evaporates easily
water
✓ Good for temporary mounting only
✓ Tissue slide cannot be examined under OIO
water
Has a high RI (1.46) and lasts for a few minutes
glycerin
Provides greater visibility when mixed with water
glycerin
composition of glycerin jelly
gelatin + glycerol + dist. Water + phenol crystals
Glycerin Jelly is Also known as _____ with a refractive index of 1.47
Kaiser’s 1880
Also known as Kaiser’s 1880 with a refractive index of 1.47
Glycerin Jelly
Standard mounting medium when dehydration and clearing using
xylene are not performed
glycerin jelly
disadvantages of glycerin jelly
X stain tend to fade
X does not set in the desired degree of hardness
X solidifies on storage
composition of farrant’s medium
(gum Arabic + dist. Water + glycerol + sodium merthiolate)
✓ Has a refractive index of 1.43
✓ Does not solidify on storage
farrant’s medium
disadvantage of farrant’s medium
takes a longer time to harden
composition of apathy’s medium
gum Arabic + cane sugar/sucrose + dist. H2O, thymol)
Has a higher refractive index of 1.52
apathy’s medium