Hi Maureen,

I learned a simialr trick 19 years ago in my first job, from a gentlemen
who was about ready to retire at the time.  He took the idea one step
further and added hand soap.  A few squirts into luke warm water did
wonders (followed by brief icing).

Thanks for bringing this back around!

Mary

>>> <NEVADUNNE@aol.com> - 10/27/1999 8:16 PM >>>
Hi everyone,
    I'm an old war-horse HT working in a small community hospital doing
routine histology. I'm just curious if anyone else has used a warm water soak
for their paraffin blocks (after facing) to improve sectioning. I have found
this technique very helpful in the sectioning of brittle biopsies and bloody
specimens. The crushed ice and water soak prior to sectioning allows a few
good sections after soak, but the warm water soak lets us get several ribbons
 before we encounter dried out tissue. This has cut down on chatter, time
spent re-soaking and over-all quality of sections.
Any feedback?

Maureen Tomblin HT(ASCP)
Union Hospital
Elkton, MD