Mounting, Ringing, and Labelling

Question 1

They hold the specimen in place, in between the slide and cover slip, and allow the specimen to be stored for years

Answer 1

Mounting Medium

Question 2

• Protects the stained section from getting scratched, bleaching and deterioration

Answer 2

Mounting Medium

Question 3

• Needed for Permanent keeping

Answer 3

Mounting Medium

Question 4

The refractive index of the mounting medium must be as close as possible to that of tissue (1.53 to 1.54) to make the
tissue section more transparent.

Answer 4

Mounting Medium

Question 5

Characteristic of Good Mounting Medium

Answer 5

1. To avoid distortion of image (1.518)
2. Miscible w/ xylene and toluene
3. It should not dry quickly
4. It should not crack or produce artefactual granularity upon drying
5. It should not dissolve out or fade tissue secretions
6. It should not cause shrinkage and distortion of tissues
7. It should not leach out any stain or affect staining
8. It should not change in color or pH
9. It should set hard, thereby producing permanent mounting of sections

Question 6

Mounting Medium Main Groups

Answer 6

• Aqueous Media

- Resinous Media

Question 7

Water-based mounting media are used whenever dehydrating and clearing will affect the stain. It
has a refractive that differs greatly from that of tissue (1.41 to 1.43)

Answer 7

Aqueous Media

Question 8

has a low refractive index, is moderately transparent and evaporates easily, hence is good only for
temporary mounting

Answer 8

Water

Question 9

• is an aqueous mounting media, and is not considered as a permanent mounting medium. It contains phenol as an
  antiseptic.
• may also be used as a preservative

Answer 9

Glycerin (1.46)

Question 10

is the standard mounting medium used when dehydration and clearing with xylene cannot be made

Answer 10

Glycerin Jelly-

Question 11

can be used as alternative in aqueous media

Answer 11

Polyvinyl alcohol

Question 12

This gum Arabic medium does not solidify upon storage and therefore does not need to
be heated before use. However, it takes a longer time to harden and may therefore require ringing.

Answer 12

Farrant’s Medium (1.43)

Question 13

This medium is used for methylene blue-stained nerve preparations and as general purpose aqueous mountant

Answer 13

Apathy’s Medium (1.52)

Question 14

It is recommended for mounting frozen sections from water

Answer 14

Brun’s Fluid

Question 15

For many years, natural resins like Canada Balsam were used.

Answer 15

Resinous Mounting Media

Question 16

However, these mounting media caused fading of the stains due to their acidic nature.

Answer 16

Resinous MM

Question 17

set very slowly and tend to become yellowish with time. Synthetic resins have replaced the natural resins, and have shown to harden quickly, have a neutral reaction, and affect staining reactions less when stored for a long time

Answer 17

Resinous MM

Question 18

• It is a natural resin extracted from the Canadian tree, Abus balsamea, usually dissolved in xylene in an incubator at 37 C
• recommended for whole mounts and thick sections

Answer 18

a. Canada Balsam

Question 19

-recommended for small tissue secretions but not whole mounts

Answer 19

b. DPX (1.532)

Question 20

-synthetic resin mixture in xylene

Answer 20

c. XAM (1.52)

Question 21

-synthetic resin w/c is soluble to xylene

Answer 21

d. CLARITE (1.544)

Question 22

Resinous Mounting Media

Answer 22

a. Canada Balsam
b. DPX
c. XAM
d. CLARITE
e. PERMOUNT
f. H.S.R.
g. Clearmount

Question 23

are applied to most sections to preserve the stained section of the tissue

Answer 23

Cover slips

Question 24

They are identified by an accommodating

number, which denotes thickness.

Answer 24

Cover slips

Question 25

With the use of forceps, what is placed on the cover slip to eliminate air bubbles.

Answer 25

slight pressure

Question 26

The slides are kept flat overnight, or dried in a slide oven. Alternative, direct heat can be applied on the slide by using

Answer 26

hair dryer for 1-5 minutes

Question 27

Care must be taken to ensure that bubbles do not appear in between the tissue and cover slip. This is because _______

Answer 27

bubbles have a tendency to retract and interfere with the microscopic evaluation of tissue section.

Question 28

Solution if bubbles appear

Answer 28

the slides are then returned to xylene to remove the cover slip, and the slide is then remounted.

Question 29

It produces a light brown stippling on

the surface of the specimen, which resembles a pigment.

Answer 29

Air drying

Question 30

results in adequate viscosity, and minimizes air bubbles.

Answer 30

Diluting resinous mounting media with xylene in

a 75:25 ratio

Question 31

-process of sealing the margins of the coverslip to prevent escape of fluid or semi-fluid mounts and evaporation of mountant, to fix the coverslip in place, and to prevent sticking of the slides upon storage. The term originated because
coverslips were initially used and the coating applied in the form of a circle or ring

Answer 31

Ringing

Question 32

Examples of Ringing

Answer 32

Kronig

Duroflex

Question 33

If more than one specimen is received from each patient for the same procedure______

Answer 33

all specimens are given the same prefix and number, followed by an alphanumeric accession code