Your definition conforms to what I have seen, that sliding means moving blade, and sledge means moving tissue.  However, I do not think there is any functional difference.  They can be used for all the same applications, are both grouped under the category "sliding microtome".  Does anybody in histoland who has used both feel they have different applications?  There is  a clear safety difference, but the tissue doesn't care which moves.


Cordially,
Charles W.  Scouten, Ph.D. 
myNeuroLab.com 
5918 Evergreen Blvd. 
St. Louis, MO 63134 
Ph: 314 522 0300  
FAX  314 522 0377 
cwscouten@myneurolab.com 
http://www.myneurolab.com 


-----Original Message-----
From: histonet-bounces@lists.utsouthwestern.edu [mailto:histonet-bounces@lists.utsouthwestern.edu] On Behalf Of Traczyk7@aol.com
Sent: Friday, March 25, 2005 5:20 PM
To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] Sliding vs. Sledge Microtome

Help me out here. 
What is the generally accepted distinction between a sliding and a sledge  
microtome?  It seems to me that the terms get used interchangeably.   In my 
book, a "sliding" microtome has a fixed specimen holder and the knife  slides back and forth on a slide way.  It is used for routine or frozen  sectioning of samples.  A "sledge" microtome has a fixed blade and the  specimen is moved, either manually or motorized.  The general application  is for hard samples such as bone and in some material science  applications.  
Any comments can be sent to me directly if you would like.
Thanks,
Dorothy Murphy Traczyk
Hacker Instruments & Industries Inc.
PO Box 1176
Winnsboro, SC 29180
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