[Histonet] upside down labels and glove issues

[Gayle Callis]

Hmmm never had a problem reading upside down, backwards labels!

My paraffin blocks, trimmed and cooling on ice block have numbers upside 
down.  I also stack or line up slides with labels upside down (northern 
labels facing south??) for my style of section pickup.   Hoever, slides are 
top labeled for easy reading/retrieving from slide drawer files.  Cut 
blocks end up with labels upside down, backwards all the time.

My other tech does most impeccable pencil ("eastern" or sideways for slide 
box filing)  labeling AFTER she picks up her sections (literally hundreds 
of sections!) AND is required to wear gloves 100% of time for ALL phases of 
paraffin rodent prion reserach project from processing through 
coverslipping.   Her sections/slides are spotless - no graphite blobs - an 
equivalent to squamous cells.  She is the neatest, most disciplined 
microtomist I have had the pleasure to mentor.  I back her up occasionally, 
and gloves never interfere with any dexterity we need for prion project 
paraffin work.

All my other paraffin projects from embedding to sectioning is done 
gloveless although an occasional escapee sq cell or two from a mystery 
source shows up.  Fingers never go swimming (seen some immerse half their 
fist into waterbath!)  and "touchy feely" all over a glass slide is 
forbidden - students learn latter rule very quickly from this Old Mother 
HenTech!!

We wear gloves that fit our hands smoothly, unwrinkled over fingertips, and 
not too tight to cut circulation.  We did take time to find flexible 
nitrile gloves rather than experience "floppy glove syndrome" on 
fingertips.  Optional, washable silk liners (for R and L hands 
www.wintersilks.com) soak up in-glove perspiration with bonus of keeping 
hands warm for hours of cryosectioning.

Interesting how we perform our technics, gloveless or not, but it has been 
entertaining - plus learned some things

Thanks folks



Gayle Callis
MT,HT,HTL(ASCP)
Research Histopathology Supervisor
Veterinary Molecular Biology
Montana State University - Bozeman
PO Box 173610
Bozeman MT 59717-3610
406 994-6367 (lab with voice mail)
406 994-4303 (FAX)