Size changes in single muscle fibers during fixation and embedding.
During fixation of single muscles fibers with glutaraldehyde, the volume of the fiber shrinks 20%, recovers in rinse and osmium tetroxide to near normal volume and shrinks 20% again when staining with uranyl acetate. This suggest that osmotic properties of membranes may not have been completely lost during fixation, post-fixation and en bloc staining. Dehydration in ethanol and propylene oxide produces a further 10% shrinkage in volume. Infiltration and embedding with Epon causes an additional 15% change in volume. This gives a total shrinkage in volume of 45% which is nearly twice that of the apparent shrinkage in the volume of the myosin lattice as determined by electron microscopy.
D000085:Acetates; D000818:Animals; D001001:Anura; D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D000431:Ethanol; D004988:Ethers, Cyclic; D005976:Glutaral; D006652:Histological Techniques; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009132:Muscles / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D009218:Myosins; D009992:Osmium; D011407:Propane / Q000031:analogs & derivatives; D013048:Specimen Handling; D013194:Staining and Labeling; D014501:Uranium
D000085:Acetates; D004852:Epoxy Compounds; D004988:Ethers, Cyclic; D009992:Osmium; D000431:Ethanol; D014501:Uranium; D009218:Myosins; D005976:Glutaral; D011407:Propane; C009068:propylene oxide