R C, In past years, I've section many primate brains in normal size sections but not whole, so this may/may not help. If it was fixation you would not be able to get a complete section in the first place, so your fixation should not be a problem. If it was the adaptor on your microtome you would have other sectioning problems: wobble, thick/thin, washboard, curved sections, uneven thickness, etc. A couple of suggestions that might help. The suggestions should work regardless of section thickness.
1. Try initially laying your ribbon on a dish of COLD water. With fine forceps, (chilled too) gently stretch out your section. When you are satisfied pick your section up from the cold and transfer it to the warm water to complete the process. Lengthens your cutting time, but works well if you have the time. 2. Be sure to use good qualilty high profile blades, if your stage/faceplate will accomodate them. Surgipath has good ones. For large sections they are more stable. 3. I did use the Surgipath Infiltration Medium for the processor. And, yes, it does make a difference. Contact your Surgipath Sales Rep and request "Infiltration Medium" to set up in your processor. You might be able to get enough for a trial run. Continue to use your "Type R" for embedding. You may need a combination of these things to get the quality you are looking for. Let me know if I can help further. Happy New Year to ALL Histonetters! Renee Grow, BA., HT (ASCP) rg...@bmnet.com Histology Supervisor Blount Memorial Hospital 907 E. Lamar Alexander Pkwy. Maryville, TN 37804-5016 (865) 977-4744 (865) 977-5766 Fax You wrote: Message: 4 Date: Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:16:04 -0800 From: R C <ruebenjcar...@gmail.com> Subject: [Histonet] 2x3 microtomy: Adapter vs Sliding Microtome To: histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu Message-ID: <2a926e3f0912291416u723bd5d4ya6b93e199b4a...@mail.gmail.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Hi. I'm working on a protocol for cutting monkey brain sections to be mounted on 2x3 slides. I've read about utilizing a sliding microtome but in short, have decided to use the 2x3 adapter for a standard Microm microtome. During microtomy I've noticed many wrinkles in the sections, particularly within the folds of the cerebellum. The wrinkles worsen as the sections float in the water bath (temp=38). In troubleshooting, a co-worker suggests inadequate fixation. I on the other hand believe that the wrinkles relate to the Type R paraffin, which contains polymers as well as the use of the adapter versus the sliding microtome. Can anyone offer any first hand experience/guidance? _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet