wayne,

thanks for post this. It's much quicker than my method.  I fume my blocks
with strong ammonia and it takes between 30 minutes to 1 hour.  

Connie McManus


At 06:31 PM 05/30/2000 -0700, Wayne D H wrote:
>I recently learned of an excellent, CHEAP substitute for Molliflex for
softening
>hard tissue in paraffin blocks.
>
>Dilute "strong ammonia"  1 in 30 with distilled water.
> I put a cloth in a staining dish and pour in enough to completely soak
the cloth,
> plus a little. Trim the blocks and place on the cloth for fifteen minutes
then put on ice water bath for a minute or two.
>Simple, cheap and seems to work as well as Molliflex on everything I've
tried.
>
>Thank you Micky Johnson at Sacred Heart Hosp in Spokane, Washington for
the tip.
>
>
>Wayne Hohn
>Kootenay Lake Hospital
>Nelson, B.C.
>Canada 
>
>
>Get your FREE Email at http://mailcity.lycos.com
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>
>
Connie McManus
Veterinary Diagnostics Lab
Utah State University
Logan, UT
USA