Preparation of Large Histological Sections of Mummified Tissues

Abstract

I HAVE described elsewhere a method for the preparation of satisfactory histological sections of Egyptian mummy tissues and outlined some of the results obtained by current staining methods¹. This method was designed for small portions of tissue only and comprised a double-embedding method by hand transference after rehydration of the desiccated tissues. By adapting this technique to the automatic processing method of Russell², it has now proved possible to prepare large blocks of mummy tissue for the microtome, using a ‘Histokinette-Histokine’. The material is processed in perforated metal cassettes of the requisite size (supplied by Hendrey's, Ltd.). The process employed utilizes a 5-day cycle, and the quality of block produced is such that sections are readily obtained, without subsequent softening, on a standard Cambridge rocking microtome.