Abstract
To transition from staining to mounting, cytologic preparations must pass through an organic solvent that will displace any remaining alcohol between staining and mounting. In addition, the solvent should have a refractive index that is similar to that of fixed protein, which is 1.536,4 and the resin of the medium in which it will be mounted. Such “matching” is an essential step in the chain of excellent imaging prerequisites, which include mounting medium, cover glass, clean microscope, and Köhler illumination.
Xylene The greatest care imaginable should be taken in preparing objects for examination; otherwise the best skill’d in magnifying glasses may be misled, if they give too sudden a judgement on what they see, without assuring themselves of the truth by repeated experiments.
George Adams, 1746
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Gill, G.W. (2013). Clearing. In: Cytopreparation. Essentials in Cytopathology, vol 12. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-4933-1_15
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