P2: Microtomy Flashcards
The process by which processed tissue, most commonly a paraffinembedded tissue, is trimmed and cut into uniformly thin slices known as sections to facilitate studies under the microscope
Microtomy
Essential Parts of a Microtome
- Block Holder
- Knife carries and knife
- Pawl, ratchet feed wheel and adjustment screw
Where tissues are held in position
Block holder
For actual cutting of tissue sections
Knife carrier and knife
To line ip the tissue block with the knife, adjusting the thickness of the tissues
Pawl, ratchet feed wheel and adjustment screws
Types of Microtome
- Rocking
- Rotary
- Sliding
- Freezing
- Ultrathin
Used for cutting sections of large blocks of paraffin embedded tissues
Rocking Microtome
Rocking microtome is invented by _____
Paldwell Trefall in 1881
The simplest among the different types of microtomes
Rocking Microtome
Used for cutting sections embedded in paraffin
Rotary Microtome
Rotary Microtome was invented by
Minot in 1885-86
Most common type used in routine and research laboratories
Rotary Microtome
Used for celloidin embedded sections
Sliding Microtome
Sliding Microtome was invented by
Adams in 1979
Two types of Sliding Microtome
Base sledge
Standard sliding
Used for unembedded frozen sections
Freezing Microtome
Freezing microtome was invented by
Queckett in 1848
Useful in rapid diagnosis and sensitive tissue constituents that are damaged or destroyed by heat
Freezing Microtome
A refrigerated apparatus used in fresh tissue microtomy
Cryostat/Cold Microtome
Consists of a rotary microtome, kept in cold chamber
Cryostat / Cold Microtome