Blocks viewed with a dissection microscope are trimmed to a trapezoidal face to remove all excess plastic and/or gelatin . Sections are produced on a MT-1 ultramicrotome with its micrometer set at the highest setting. Sections are cut with glass knives made on an LKB Glassmaker sealed and boated with 3-M pressure tape and dental wax, or with a 6 mm Diatome Histo diamond knife. Sections are collected on the surface of double distilled water bath within the knife boat. Sections are transfered to a glass slide by placing them on a flattened applicator stick, which is then rotated on a drop of water on a glass slide. The slide is placed on a warm hot plate until the water drop evaporates. A drop of toluidine blue stain is placed on the section and the slide rinsed vigorously with running tap water. After drying on the hot plate the section is ready for viewing.
This section is the thick section (0.5 micron) of the block face used to determine the orientation of the specimen. A smaller block face is trimmed from the large area for thin sectioning for the electron microscope.
reviewed 8-24-06 CPD
