Lynn and Gwen,
first off sausage blocks are a way of making control blocks for immunos that
have all the tissues for controls in one block, thus saving the user from
having to maintain a huge library of control blocks for immuno procedures.
The sections are "mapped" so that the user knows what tissue is where in the
block, As the tissue is processed, I would imagine ithey are rather yucky
with eggs, but I cannot speak from experience. :->
  As for sausage casing, Lynn, It may not be necessary.  Dr. Rodney Miller
published a "shortcut" (quite) a few years back in the Histo-Logic using
plain old boring paraffin as a substitute.  If memory serves, you cut the
tissues into matchstick sized pieces, then process.  After processing, start
with one piece and roll it in a little paraffin, let it get just barely
hard, take another piece, add it to the first, roll both together in the
paraffin, let 'em get hard enough to stay together when you add the third,
and so on until all the pieces are added.   When hardened, you cut the
"sausage" into embedable sizes, embed and stain to map.  I have no idea when
this was in the Histo-Logic, but doubt it would be too hard to find.  Dr.
Miller cited this article at an immuno session he gave at our Texas meeting
year-before-last.
Hope this helps, as I have no earthly idea where to get sausage casing
anywhere in the US.
Wanda Shotsberger
Harris Methodist Hospital
Fort Worth TX
 ----------
From: Gwendolyn Goldberg
To: Lynn Gardner; Histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
Subject: Re: Sausage Casing
Date: Thursday, January 13, 2000 4:06PM

  Ok..I`ll show my eignorance...what do you do with
them are they good with eggs????

 --- Lynn Gardner <lynn-gardner@uiowa.edu> wrote:
> Hey all of you out there in Histoland was wondering
> where people are
> getting their sausage casing for Multi tumor tissue
> blocks. Would
> appreciate a quick answer from anyone who knows
> anything about this. Also
> it would be helpful if anyone knows where we could
> get some here in Iowa.
>
> Thanks All
> Lynn Gardner
>
>
>
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