Rapid Procedure for Rehydration of Desiccated Tissue

Details

• Personal Author:
  Willard PS
• Description:
  A frequent laboratory problem is desiccation of tissue owing to malfunctioning automatic tissue processors (ATP) or breakage of specimen containers during mailing. In the past, many methods have been employed for the rehydration of such tissue. These procedures usually involve soaking the tissue in physiological saline and fixatives for several days, or even weeks. The time involved is of particular concern when processing surgical specimens. Also, with these procedures, rehydration is frequently incomplete and the tissue is left brittle and difficult to section. Cells are often shrunken, and as a result, the histology is difficult to interpret. In addition, for tissue that has become desiccated during the dehydration phase in the ATP and them continues to the infiltration phase, a great deal of time is required to remove the paraffin before rehydration can take place. The following is a procedure that I have found to be both workable and rapid. This procedure involves boiling the tissue in a wetting solution for 20 minutes, allowing removal of paraffin and complete rehydration. Processing, cutting, and staining can be accomplished in the same day while excellent microscopic histology is retained. Many common wetting agents, including laboratory detergents, can be used; however, I have found Leconal most effective. Procedure for tissue infiltrated with paraffin: Leave tissue in metal cassette; immerse in a 10% solution of Leconal. Bring to a boil; boil for 20 minutes. Place the container in a pan of ice water. As the solution cools, the paraffin will rise to the top and solidify. Remove paraffin; rinse in warm tap water for 10 minutes and reprocess. Procedure for tissue not infiltrated with paraffin: Place tissue in metal cassette; immerse in a 10% solution of Leconal. Bring to a boil; boil for 20 minutes. Rinse in warm tap water for 10 minutes and reprocess. Only one disadvantage of this procedure has been encountered, and that is in the processing of lungs fixed with formaldehyde gas and air dried. In this specialized case, the cellular histology is excellent, but the lung tissue shrinks by approximately one-half. This is only a disadvantage, however, when morphometry is critical. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Laboratories Lung Occupational Health Respiratory System Safety
• Keywords:
  Analytical Processes Laboratory Techniques Laboratory Testing Lung Tissue
• Publisher:
  Lab-Tek Products, Division of Miles Laboratories, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  ALFORD - Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Respiratory Disease ; OD - Office of the Director
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  44-45
• Issue:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20050886
• Citation:
  Histo-logic 1974 Jan; IV(1):44-45
• Contact Point Address:
  Patsy S. Willard, HT (ASCP), Appalachian Laboratory for Occupational Respiratory Diseases, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, West Virginia 26505
• Editor(s):
  Luna LG
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1974
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Source Full Name:
  Histo-logic: a Technical Bulletin for Histotechnology
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9be35d3dc44ecc8358e3adc0873f9c57782864f23b3b02a7b6a8cbd8dcae8e035b2f4a93336a5fd9a760a5198d6c3e478566e4061b827479334a555d6a7510a5
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/211078/cdc_211078_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 475.87 KB ]