[Histonet] museum specimens

[Charles Scouten]

Depends on how thick you want the specimen sections to be.  With a
Vibratome, you can cut brain that hardened to 20 micron (if care is
used) or thicker sections.  Thinner sections requires freezing or
embedding.  Cells might be in better shape with vibratome sectioning
than if you freeze or embed.
 

Cordially,

Charles W.  Scouten, Ph.D. 
myNeuroLab.com 
5918 Evergreen Blvd. 
St. Louis, MO 63134 
Ph: 314 522 0300  
FAX  314 522 0377 
cwscouten <@t> myneurolab.com <mailto:cwscouten <@t> myneruolab.com>  
www.myneurolab.com 

 

 

________________________________

-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Iwaniuk [mailto:aiwaniuk <@t> ualberta.ca]
Sent: 08 February 2004 22:11
To: histonet <@t> lists.utsouthwestern.edu
Subject: [Histonet] museum specimens


Hello all,

I have a question regarding the preparation of museum specimens for
histology.  I recently obtained access to several museum specimens
(formalin fixed and
then preserved in 70% ethanol) that we are using for a comparative
neuroanatomical study.  We are hoping to successfully extract the brains
and
section the tissue to examine cerebellar structure.  I was thinking of
taking
the brains through a graded series of ethanols to PBS, post-fixing in
PFA and
gelatin embedding them for frozen sections.  Alternatives would be to
leave it
in 70% ethanol and section it on a vibratome or paraffin embed them.

Does anyone have any experience in performing histology on museum
specimens
like these or suggestions/advice on the matter?

Thanks,
Andrew Iwaniuk

Andrew N. Iwaniuk
Post-doctoral Research Fellow
Songbird Neuroethology Lab
Department of Psychology
University of Alberta
P217 Biological Sciences Building
Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E9
Canada
Ph: +1 780 492 0323
Fax: +1 780 492 1768


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