Synopsis
Pathologists handling surgical material must make a definitive diagnosis, usually on a Haematoxylin-Eosin stained section, but must also consider beforehand what supporting histochemical investigations may be needed. When only one small piece of tissue is available it should either be fixed in cold neutral or buffered formalin-calcium or formalin-sucrose or alternatively quenched; the first alternative offers a more practical all-round procedure and most investigations which are likely to be of use can be done following it. If the biopsy is divisible into two, one piece should be fixed and the second quenched; if 3 pieces are available, the third should be fixed in glutaraldehyde for possible electron microscopy.
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Dawson, I.M.P. (1973). Fixation: What should the pathologist do?. In: Stoward, P.J. (eds) Fixation in Histochemistry. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3260-0_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-3260-0_10
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