John Kiernan wrote:
> 
> Manfred Gabe ("Histological Techniques." 1976; an
> excellent big fat book) extolled the virtues of
> cedarwood oil. In particular, he claimed that
> it was essential when thin paraffin sections were
> to be stained by classical techniques for
> mitochondria, Golgi apparatus etc following
> classical cytological fixatives (mixtures
> containing K2Cr2O7 and OsO4).
> 
> I've used it for decalcified rodent heads, which
> can be hard in parts, and found it better than
> less viscous solvents such as chloroform, xylene
> etc. I think the softening action is probably
> due to retention of some of the oil in the
> tissue despite thorough rinsing in a thinner
> solvent and several changes of wax. You can smell
> the cedarwood oil while cutting the block.
> 
> I'm not convinced that cedarwood oil is any
> better than terpineol, which is less viscous and
> also cheaper.  Another very effective clearing
> agent for large hard objects is Gabe's phenolic
> benzene. This is used in double-embedding routines
> after the celloidin and before the paraffin. For
> biggish decalcified objects containing tissues
> of varying hardness, double embedding is the
> best method I know. The phenol in the clearing
> agent largely prevents later extraction of the
> celloidin. It may also have a softening action;
> it's certainly present (smell) in the final block.
> 
> I've no experience of fabric softener as an aid
> to histological technique. If you search the
> archives at http://www.histosearch.com you will
> probably find some anecdotal accounts of its
> use.
> --
> -------------------------
> John A. Kiernan
> Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
> The University of Western Ontario
> London,   Canada   N6A 5C1
>    kiernan@uwo.ca
>    http://publish.uwo.ca/~jkiernan/
> ________________________________________
> > Muskett David wrote:
> >
> > Dear John
> >
> > Sorry that my e-mail had some colour on the
> > background. I had attempted to send it as plain text!
> >
> > My Questions were
> >
> > I am having some difficulty with processing hard
> > tissues. Would the use of cedar wood oil as the
> > clearing agent be of use? Or would the use of fabric
> > conditioner be helpful?
> >
> > I am looking for protocols and methods
> >
> > Hope you can help.
> >
> > Thanks
> >
> > David
> >
> > David Muskett
> > Histology
> > Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust - Alder Hey
> > Eaton Road
> > Liverpool
> > L12 2AP
> _______________________

-- 
-------------------------
John A. Kiernan
Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology
The University of Western Ontario
London,   Canada   N6A 5C1
   kiernan@uwo.ca
   http://publish.uwo.ca/~jkiernan/

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