title: Clarifying Tissue Clearing.
abstract: Biological specimens are intrinsically three dimensional; however, because of the obscuring effects of light scatter, imaging deep into a tissue volume is problematic. Although efforts to eliminate the scatter by "clearing" the tissue have been ongoing for over a century, there have been a large number of recent innovations. This Review introduces the physical basis for light scatter in tissue, describes the mechanisms underlying various clearing techniques, and discusses several of the major advances in light microscopy for imaging cleared tissue.
authors.affiliation: Harvard Center for Biological Imaging, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address: drichardson@fas.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Douglas S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.affiliation: Harvard Center for Biological Imaging, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA; Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. Electronic address: jeff@mcb.harvard.edu.
authors.forename: Jeff W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Lichtman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006652:Histological Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D006653:Histology; D006801:Humans; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional / Q000379:methods; D008027:Light; D008853:Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods