I used to work for a derm lab and we would soak the toenails in "Neet" of 
"Nair". Both of these are great for softening up the thick layers of 
keratin. Just place the fixed and unprocessed nail in the middle of some of 
the cream, let sit overnight, rinse well and then process as usual. This 
really helps with cutting these nasty things.

Tara Oakes,H.T.

P.S. If the toenail is already processed and embedded, you can also let the 
surfaced block soak for a few hours. Rinse well before cutting.






>From: Dmborel@aol.com
>To: histonet@pathology.swmed.edu
>Subject: toenail processing
>Date: Thu, 16 Jan 2003 16:26:04 -0500 (EST)
>
>We have a toenail with no attached soft tissue to process for H & E and PAS
>with diastase stains.  We have been soaking it in 5% ammonium hydroxide
>solution for days, and it is still too brittle to cut on the microtome.  
>Does
>anyone have a better protocol?
>Thanks,
>David Borel


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