I had similar morphological artifacts when I once
tried to decalcify in EDTA/formalin before the bone
biopsy was fixed.
Now we fix bone marrow trephine biopsies for 24hrs in
formalin then decal in EDTA in phosphate buffered
formol saline for a week.  It may be a little slow but
the immunohistochem and perls stain work OK.

--- Rena Fail <RFail@Charleston.net> wrote: > The
process I described is for rushing 2-3 mm bm bxs
> and is for 1hr.20 
> minutes. Definitely not the routine. A 5 hour
> processing time should not be 
> a problem Too short a processing time, aggressive
> decalcification, or under 
> decalcification  all effect the morphology.  A
> little patience when cutting 
> is a must in order to obtain good 2 micron sections.
> 
>   The morphology and antigenicity of bone marrows
> are better preserved 
> using a weak acid for decalcification. For many
> years we used acetic 
> Zenker's (overnight) then tried some of the
> commercial decals, but they 
> were way too harsh. Easy to cut, but results of IHC
> too variable to be 
> reliable. Our lab manager suggested formic acid. I
> don't have the 
> percentages or times here at home. I will ask Vinnie
> to pass that info on 
> to you Mon.
> 
> Rena Fail AS,HT(ASCP)
> SS/IHC LAB
> Medical University of SC
> 165 Ashley Ave
> Charleston,SC 29425
> 
> 

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