Carnoy's fixative contains chloroform, and that's enough reason not to use it. In addition to its toxicity, chloroform dissolves methacrylate plastic, as I found out the hard way once when I tried to fix a specimen in Carnoy's fixative in a methacrylate container because I had nothing else.
I've seen Carnoy's fixative used as a "disclosing fixative" for finding mesenteric lymph nodes in colectomy specimens. There's no excuse for this. There are a number of proprietary fixatives (such as Surgipath's O-Fix) for this purpose, or if you're allowed to brew your own, I use Davidson's fixative (3 parts water, 3 parts reagent alcohol, 2 parts 37% formaldehyde [NOT 10% NBF], 1 part glacial acetic acid.) Bob Richmond Samurai Pathologist Maryville TN _______________________________________________ Histonet mailing list Histonet@lists.utsouthwestern.edu http://lists.utsouthwestern.edu/mailman/listinfo/histonet
