The preparation of serial sections of platyhelminth parasites, with details of the materials and facilities required

Abstract

A complete account is given of the preparation of serial sections of helminthological material from living specimens through to the production of stained and mounted preparations for the light microscope. An exhaustive list of the instruments, glassware, chemicals and specialised equipment required is presented together with the requirements for an histological laboratory and a detailed account of the care and sharpening of microtome knives. A formulary of the solutions needed together with details of their preparation is included.

Preparatory techniques such as the preliminary treatment of specimens and fixation are commented upon. The histological method is dealt with step by step as follows: preliminary staining, dehydration, clearing, infiltration with paraffin wax (including the description of a special technique for dealing with minute specimens involving pre-embedding in agar), blocking out, trimming the wax block, cutting the sections, mounting the sections on glass slides, staining the sections in Mayer's haemalum and eosin, and mounting the sections under a coverslip in Canada balsam. In addition, schedules are included for processing a specific helminth from fixation to blocking out and for the staining of the sections in haemalum and eosin.