134
4.
EMBEDDING
enough so that good fusion occurs. Finally, excess wax is maneuvered
away from the cutting area with a warm knife blade, being most careful
to avoid contamination of the wax with particulate matter which might
subsequently damage the knife edge. Obviously, one must be judicious
in the use of a hot scalpel blade for these operations, for too hot a blade
naturally can damage the specimen.
If it is only necessary to make a simple or approximate reorientation
of the tissue, the piece of tissue can be given a flat face which will become
its base, and it can be glued with "household cement," or better with
epoxy "glue" to a wood or plastic plug.
Variations of these basic procedures to meet particular situations will,
in general, be obvious. If one wishes a hard wax with a lower melting
point than carnauba, bayberry wax can be substituted. However, although bayberry wax is hard, it is extremely brittle, while carnauba is
quite tough. Neither of these waxes, even when combined with paraffin,
adhere well to most surfaces unless they penetrate. If a sticky wax is
needed, beeswax can be added to the mixture, although this is relatively
soft. All of these waxes are apt to be contaminated with gritty material
when they are purchased and must be filtered before use.
LITERATURE CITED
Bernhard, W., and Leduc, E. H. (1962). In "Electron Microscopy" (Proc. 5th Intern.
Congr. Electron Microscopy), Vol. 2, pp L-4, Academic Press, New York.
Birbeck, M. S. C, and Mercer, E. H. (1957). /. Roy. Microscop.
Soc. 76, 159.
Borysko, E. (1956). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 2 (Suppl.), p. 3.
Borysko, E. (1960). Proc. 4th Intern.
Congr. Electron
Microscopy
2, 40. Springer, Berlin.
Danon, D. (1961). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 9, 726.
Fernandez-Moran, H., and Finean, J. B. (1957). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 3, 725.
Finck, H. (1960). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 7, 27.
Fischlschweiger, W. (1963). Mikroskopie
17, 341.
Freeman, J. A., and Spurlock, B. O. (1962). /. Cell Biol. 13, 437.
Galey, F. (1963). /. Ultrastructure
Research
9, 139.
Gettner, M. E., and Ornstein, L. (1956). In "Physical Techniques in Biological Research" (G. Oster and A. W. Pollister, eds.), Vol. Ill, Chapter 13. Academic Press,
New York.
Gibbons, I. R. (1959). Nature
184, 375.
Gibbons, I. R. (1960). Proc. 4th Intern.
Congr.
Electron
Microscopy
2, 55. Springer,
Berlin.
Gilev, V. P. (1958). /. Ultrastructure
Research
1, 349.
Glauert, A. M. (1961). In "Techniques for Electron Microscopy" (D. Kay, ed.), Chapter 8, p. 167. C. C Thomas, Springfield, Illinois.
4.
EMBEDDING
enough so that good fusion occurs. Finally, excess wax is maneuvered
away from the cutting area with a warm knife blade, being most careful
to avoid contamination of the wax with particulate matter which might
subsequently damage the knife edge. Obviously, one must be judicious
in the use of a hot scalpel blade for these operations, for too hot a blade
naturally can damage the specimen.
If it is only necessary to make a simple or approximate reorientation
of the tissue, the piece of tissue can be given a flat face which will become
its base, and it can be glued with "household cement," or better with
epoxy "glue" to a wood or plastic plug.
Variations of these basic procedures to meet particular situations will,
in general, be obvious. If one wishes a hard wax with a lower melting
point than carnauba, bayberry wax can be substituted. However, although bayberry wax is hard, it is extremely brittle, while carnauba is
quite tough. Neither of these waxes, even when combined with paraffin,
adhere well to most surfaces unless they penetrate. If a sticky wax is
needed, beeswax can be added to the mixture, although this is relatively
soft. All of these waxes are apt to be contaminated with gritty material
when they are purchased and must be filtered before use.
LITERATURE CITED
Bernhard, W., and Leduc, E. H. (1962). In "Electron Microscopy" (Proc. 5th Intern.
Congr. Electron Microscopy), Vol. 2, pp L-4, Academic Press, New York.
Birbeck, M. S. C, and Mercer, E. H. (1957). /. Roy. Microscop.
Soc. 76, 159.
Borysko, E. (1956). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 2 (Suppl.), p. 3.
Borysko, E. (1960). Proc. 4th Intern.
Congr. Electron
Microscopy
2, 40. Springer, Berlin.
Danon, D. (1961). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 9, 726.
Fernandez-Moran, H., and Finean, J. B. (1957). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 3, 725.
Finck, H. (1960). /. Biophys.
Biochem.
Cytol. 7, 27.
Fischlschweiger, W. (1963). Mikroskopie
17, 341.
Freeman, J. A., and Spurlock, B. O. (1962). /. Cell Biol. 13, 437.
Galey, F. (1963). /. Ultrastructure
Research
9, 139.
Gettner, M. E., and Ornstein, L. (1956). In "Physical Techniques in Biological Research" (G. Oster and A. W. Pollister, eds.), Vol. Ill, Chapter 13. Academic Press,
New York.
Gibbons, I. R. (1959). Nature
184, 375.
Gibbons, I. R. (1960). Proc. 4th Intern.
Congr.
Electron
Microscopy
2, 55. Springer,
Berlin.
Gilev, V. P. (1958). /. Ultrastructure
Research
1, 349.
Glauert, A. M. (1961). In "Techniques for Electron Microscopy" (D. Kay, ed.), Chapter 8, p. 167. C. C Thomas, Springfield, Illinois.