Improved Methods for Molding, Facing and Sectioning Glycol Methacrylate Embedded Tissue Blocks

Abstract

Improvements in glycol methacrylate embedding, block facing, trimming, and sectioning are described. The improvements are derived from a novel molding system, a multipurpose instrument for rapid block facing, trimming and examination, and a device for removing unwanted sections from the microtome knife while sectioning is in progress. Together, these methods facilitate specimen preparation and result in a significant reduction of the time required to prepare high resolution, very thin sections for light microscopy.