SECTION-CUTTING:
A PRACTICAL GUIDE
TO THE
PREPARATION AND MOUNTING OF SECTIONS FOR
THE MICROSCOPE,
_SPECIAL PROMINENCE BEING GIVEN TO THE
SUBJECT OF ANIMAL SECTIONS._
BY
DR. SYLVESTER MARSH.
_WITH ILLUSTRATIONS._
REPRINTED FROM THE LONDON EDITION, WITH NOTES AND AN APPENDIX
ON THE SELECTION AND CARE OF SECTION KNIVES.
NEW YORK:
INDUSTRIAL PUBLICATION COMPANY.
1879.
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PREFACE.
If we glance at any of the numerous magazines devoted either wholly or
in part to the subject of microscopy, we shall hardly fail to be struck
with the numerous queries relating to SECTION-CUTTING, which are to be
found in its pages. A simple explanation of this wide-spread want is
afforded by the fact that the use of the microscope has at the present
day extended to (and is still rapidly spreading amongst) vast numbers of
students, who, in many instances, possess neither the leisure nor the
means to refer for information to large and expensive text-books.
Moreover, were they actually to consult such works, they would
practically fail to obtain the information of which they are in need,
for the coveted instruction is to be found in those treatises only in a
scattered and fragmentary form—no work with which we are acquainted
treating of the subject in anything like a detailed manner. To fill this
_vacuum_ in the literature of microscopy the present manualette has been
prepared. Little claim is made to originality, yet the book is by no
means a mere compilation, but the outcome of long and extensive personal
experience in the cutting and mounting of microscopical sections. Every
process described has been put to the test of actual trial, so that its
worth may confidently be depended upon. Many of the little points
insisted upon in the ensuing pages will doubtless to the practised
microscopist appear superfluous or even puerile; but a vivid
recollection of our own early failures and disappointments assures us
that it is just these very _minutiæ_ of detail which will be found most
serviceable in directing and sustaining the faltering footsteps of the
tyro.
ST. HELENS, _September, 1878_.
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PREFACE TO AMERICAN EDITION.
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Dr. Marsh’s book cannot fail to promote the practical study of histology
wherever the English language is spoken, and under ordinary
circumstances the students of this country might have been left to the
use of the London edition. But a careful reading showed that one or two
points which are perfectly clear to British readers might be a source of
doubt and difficulty to students on this side. At the present day in
this country histology is a favorite study with very many private
students who have no access to teachers or large libraries, and for the
purpose of smoothing their path we have added such information as was
obviously desirable. In the hope that these additions will prove of
value, we submit the book to American readers.
NEW YORK, _January, 1879_.
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CONTENTS.
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PART I.
Introduction 11
On Cutting Unprepared Vegetable Tissues 12
On Cutting Unprepared Animal Tissues 13
Preparation of Vegetable Tissues 15
Preparation of Animal Tissues 16
Special Methods of Hardening 19
Cutting Hardened Tissues by Hand 19
Microtome 20
Æther Microtome 24
Section-Knife 24
Imbedding in Paraffine for Microtome 26
Employment of Microtome 29
Staining Agents 31
Carmine Staining 32
Mounting Media 36
Mounting in Glycerine 38
Uses of Freezing Microtome 42
Employment of Freezing Microtome 43
Logwood Staining 47
Absolute Alcohol 50
Clove Oil 51
Canada Balsam 51
Mounting in Balsam 53
Finishing the Slide 55