Hi there,

Bisecting lymph nodes (if possible) and breadslicing spleens(packing the 
incisions with paper towels to soak up the fixative) and refixing overnight 
helps prevent central autolysis and other fixation related problems.  This 
also allows one to cut a thinner, more regularly shaped piece of the spleen 
for subsequent processing.

Poor processing ie too short a time dehydrating and overheating of the 
tissue in paraffin wax can also lead to brittle tissue which shatters with 
cutting, swell and explode on the waterbath and other general nasty things.

Spleens and lymph nodes cut best when the block has been cooled on ice. Make 
sure that the section dries - stand the slide upright and allow the water to 
drain completely before melting the wax.

Small bubbles trapped under the section when flaoting out leave "starburst" 
like artifacts on the section. Try to avoid these too.

Hope this helps
Bone Research Unit
MRC
Johannesburg
South Africa
Tel & fax +27 11 717 2298
"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana"





>From: nejat y#253#lmaz 
>To: HistoNet Server 
>Date: Tue, 22 Oct 2002 13:51:42 +0300
>
>We are having problems with fixation of lymphoid tissue (spleen, lymph node
>etc.). We couldn't get good sections and good staininig results.
>Could you offer us a useful method for this tissues???


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