Histological preparation of large vertebral specimens.
A histological method is described for processing human lumbosacral vertebral specimens through fixation, decalcification, dehydration and embedding in a mixture of low viscosity nitrocellulose and celloidin. The large blocks thus obtained were serially sectioned on a Jung Tetrander microtome at a section thickness of 100 microns. Shrinkage of 8.6% was observed for the mounted specimens by comparing the unprocessed specimens (by X-ray measurement) with the mounted sections (measured using a transparent ruler). A horizontally sectioned lumbosacral joint is used to illustrate the excellent histological detail obtained of the anatomy at this level of the spinal column.
D000368:Aged; D002102:Cadaver; D006652:Histological Techniques; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008867:Microtomy / Q000379:methods; D008875:Middle Aged; D013131:Spine / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D013194:Staining and Labeling