Three-dimensional reconstruction of semi-gross biostructures using 'macroserials'--1-mm-thick serial organ slices.
A method for reconstructing a gross or semi-gross organ structure was developed in a pathological analysis of liver lobes surgically excised from patients with bile duct carcinoma, where the extent of the tumour was to be demonstrated three-dimensionally. Fixed material was serially sliced with a ham-slicer, producing flawless slices as thin as 1 mm. Prior to slicing, the material was temporarily 'embedded' in gelatine to hold it in shape throughout slicing. These slices ('macroserials') could be directly brought into macroscopic 3-D reconstruction, but in the case of bile duct carcinoma, microscopic examination of the slices was indispensable in determining the extent of carcinoma and precarcinomatous (dysplastic) changes. Slices 1 mm thick were embedded in paraffin using a special holder made of plywood plates which kept a slice in a flat, extended state through the dehydration process. This method of preparing thin slices not only allows the reconstruction of a gross organ structure with less effort than before, but also ensures a certain amount of accuracy in the reproduction of submacroscopic structures.
Suzuki
M
M
Department of Pathology, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.
Takahashi
T
T
Ohuchi
K
K
D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000473:pathology*; D001650:Bile Duct Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D001653:Bile Ducts, Intrahepatic / Q000473:pathology*; D005780:Gelatin; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008099:Liver / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008867:Microtomy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged
D005780:Gelatin