Excellent suggestions on filling heart for better (Re: [Histonet]) mouse heart morphology

[Kelly D Mcqueeney]

This may sound weird, but has anyone ever perfused a rodent with OCT (or 
a dilution of OCT) for better quality fresh brain tissue (we want to 
avoid fixation)?

Thanks,
Kelly

Gayle Callis wrote:

> Filling the heart with OCT and then snap freezing is an excellent 
> suggestion, and basically the same as filling mouse lungs with OCT to 
> get stable, gently distended alveoli and excellent sectioning quality.
>
> When you bisect the heart after OCT fill and snap freeze,  a room 
> temperature teflon coated razor blade (EBS of Ted Pella or a teflon 
> coated disposable microtome blade slices through frozen tissue/OCT 
> smoothly, evenly plus the blades are very thin.   We slice frozen 
> tissue blocks frequently this way, without tissue damage.
>
> Gayle Callis
>
> At 01:06 PM 3/7/2005, you wrote:
>
>> David,
>>
>> Here is a idea based on no experience:
>>
>> Inject the fresh heart with OCT.  Place a landmark with ink or suture 
>> to maintain orientation.
>> Freeze it whole. Do either A or B
>>
>> A) Embed the entire heart in the desired orientation and simply trim 
>> down until you reach the desired plane of section.
>>
>> B) Let the frozen heart warm to about -15 C. Now with a scalpel, cut 
>> it in the desired plane and embed the halves to achieve the desired 
>> plane of section.
>>
>> As far as getting high quality frozens section slides that is quite 
>> possible with good technique.
>>
>> Stephen
>>
>>
>> Stephen Peters M.D.
>> Pathology Innovations, LLC
>> 410 Old Mill Lane,
>> Wyckoff, NJ 07481
>> 201 847 7600
>> www.pathologyinnovations.com
>>
>> Senior Attending Pathologist
>> Hackensack University Medical Center
>> 201 996 4836
>>
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>
>
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