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A method for ultrastructural study of lesions found in conventional histological sections

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Summary

Histological sections of paraffin-embedded formalin-fixed postmortem specimens have been prepared for electronmicroscopic study by a modified method of “open-face” embedding. Lesions or other features are located and photographed by the light microscope. Their locations are then marked, coverglasses removed, sections rehydrated, postfixed in OsO4, dehydrated and the study foci embedded in epoxy resin, separated from the slide, sectioned and stained for electronmicroscopy. Thus, the morphological features of disease processes may be recorded through a much greater range of magnification than hitherto available.

Zusammenfassung

Die vorliegende, modifizierte „Open-face“-Methode erlaubt, histologische Schnitte von formalinfixiertem, in Paraffin eingebettetem Autopsiematerial für die elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchung umzubetten. Pathologische Veränderungen oder andere Besonderheiten werden lichtmikroskopisch festgestellt und photographiert. Man markiert die genauen Lokalisationen von ultramikroskopisch zu untersuchenden Stellen in den histologischen Präparaten, entfernt die Deckgläser, rehydriert die Schnitte, fixiert dann in Osmiumtetroxyd und entwässert. Anschließend werden die zu untersuchenden Stellen in Epoxyresin eingebettet, vom Objektträger entfernt, mit dem Ultramikrotom geschnitten und für die elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchung gefärbt. Auf diese Weise sind viele morphologische Einzelheiten in konventionellen histologischen Schnitten der elektronenmikroskopischen Untersuchung zugänglich.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Animal Pathology, University of Bern, Switzerland

    G. L. Rossi, H. Luginbühl & D. Probst

Authors
  1. G. L. Rossi
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  2. H. Luginbühl
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  3. D. Probst
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Additional information

Supported by grant HE-4885, National Heart Institute.

The authors are indebted to Dr. I. Gersh, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania in whose laboratory part of this work was carried out, and to Mr. W. R. Schnarr and Mr. J. Di Lullo for technical assistance.

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Rossi, G.L., Luginbühl, H. & Probst, D. A method for ultrastructural study of lesions found in conventional histological sections. Virchows Arch. Abt. A Path. Anat. 350, 216–224 (1970). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00543869

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00543869

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