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Mounting

MOUNTING and
LABELING

Mounting Medium

Characteristics of a good mounting medium

syrupy fluid applied between the section and

the coverslip after staining, setting the section
firmly, preventing the movement of the
coverslip
protects the stained section from getting
scratched, slides for permanent keeping, to
facilitate easy handling and storage
serves to prevent the distortion of image
during microscopic examination

Kinds and Uses of Mounting Media

process that involves the use of a medium

and a coverslip to facilitate the ease of
handling and storage of the slide and to
prevent damage to the section

A refractive index which is near to that of the glass (1.518)

Miscible with xylene and toluene
Does not dry quickly
Does not produce artifacts on the slides
Does not dissolve out or fade tissue sections
Does not cause shrinkage and distortion of tissues
Does not leach out any stain or affect staining
Does not change in color or pH
Sets hard and produces permanent mounting of sections

Kinds and Uses of Mounting Media

Aqueous mounting media

Aqueous mounting media

designed to mount water-miscible

preparations directly from water in cases
where the stain is removed or decolorized
with alcohol or xylene, or for metachromatic
staining of amyloid
usually made up of gelatin, glycerin jelly or
gum arabic, glycerol, sugar and a
preservative solution

Water

Temporary medium

Glycerin

Preservative actions
Set hard
Keeps sections for years after ringing

Farrants medium

Dissolved gum arabic

Takes long to harder and requires ringing

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Kinds and Uses of Mounting Media

Aqueous mounting media
Apathys medium

Used for methylene blue stained nerve

preparations
Set hard and does not require ringing

Bruns fluid

Recommended for mounting frozen sections

Kinds and Uses of Mounting Media

Resinous mounting media

Canada Balsam
Transparent and colorless resin that adheres to glass
Darkens with age and oxidizes xylene to become acidic
Recommended for whole mounts and thick sections

DPX
For small tissue sections due to shrinkage produced upon
drying
Dries rapidly

Kinds and Uses of Mounting Media

Resinous mounting media
used for preparations that have been
dehydrated and cleared in xylene or toluene,
and are recommended for majority of staining
methods
divided into natural and synthetic

Kinds and Uses of Mounting Media

Resinous mounting media

CLARITE
HISTOCLAD
EUKITT
PERMOUNT
ENTALLAN

XAM
Synthetic mixture in xylene
Dries quickly without retraction

Ringing

process of sealing the margins of the coverslip to prevent the escape of fluid or semi-fluid
mounts and evaporation of mountant, to
immobilize the coverslip, and to prevent
sticking of the slides upon storage

Kinds and Uses of Ringing Media

Kronig cement

made up of two parts paraffin was mixed with

4-9 parts powdered colophonium resin,
heated and filtered

Durofix

cellulose adhesives

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Labeling
process

of indicating the year and

specimen number on one end of the
prepared slide for proper identification