HISTOPATHOLOGY MIDTERMS

CHAPTER 11: IMPREGNATION AND EMBEDDING

>__________________ Is the process whereby the clearing agent is completely removed from
the tissue and replaced by a medium that will completely fill all the tissue cavities and give a
firm consistency to the specimen.
>__________________ is the process by which the impregnated tissue is placed into a precisely
arranged position in a mold containing a medium which is then allowed to solidify.

Infiltrating and Embedding medium should be: (11)

>The medium used to infiltrate the tissue is usually the same medium utilized for impregnation,
and for general purposes is known as an _______________________
>there are generally 4 types of impregnation and embedding medium: (4)
^________________ is the simplest, most common and best embedding medium used for
routine tissue processing. This is a ____________________ of solid ________________
produces during the refining of coal and mineral oils.
^It is solid at room temperature but melts at temperatures up to about __c or __c
^_________________ can be purchased with melting points at different temperatures, the
most common for histological use being about __c to __c.
^the traditional advice with paraffin wax is to use this about __c above its melting point
^_______________________ depends upon the molecular weight of the components and the
ambient temperature
^To decrease viscosity and improve infiltration of the tissue, technologists often increase the
temperature to above __c or __c
^paraffin wax is traditionally marketed by its melting points which range from __c to __
^____________________ depends upon the crystal morphology of the embedding medium.
^____________________morphology of paraffin wax can be altered by incorporating additives
which result in a less brittle, more homogenous wax with good cutting characteristics. Less
DEFORMATION during thin sectioning.
^ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES
^tissues that are difficult to infiltrate (4)
^paraffin processing is not recommended for ______________
>After being completely cleared, the tissue is submerged in two or more changes of melted
paraffin wax, either in a paraffin oven or in a n incubator which has been regulated at __ to ___
degrees Celsius
>depends on:
> ____________________-longer time is requires for thicker tissues
> ____________________-vacuum reduces the time required for complete
impregnation
> ____________________
>Common waxes have melting points of: (4) the __c wax is normally used for routine work
>in a laboratory with temperature ranging from _____ , paraffin wax with a melting point of __-
__c is indicated
>if the laboratory temperature is between __-__c , the melting point of wax to be used should
be between __ and __c
>_______________ require wax with a higher melting point than soft tissues.
>There are 3 ways by which paraffin wax impregnation and embedding of tissues may be
performed:
>_________________- at least __ changes of wax are required at __ minutes intervals in order
to insure complete removal of the clearing agent from the tissue.
> the specimen is then immersed in another fresh solution of melted paraffin
for approximately __hours to insure complete embedding or casting of tissue
> the ff. is an example of a time schedule for manual processing of tissues
about __mm thick
>__________________- this method makes use of an automatic tissue processing machine for
example :__________________ which fixes, dehydrates, clears and infiltrates tissues, thereby
DECREASING THE TIME AND LABOR NEEDED DURING THE PROCESSING OF TISSUES. This results
in a more RAPID diagnosis with less technicality
> usually only __ to __ changes of wax are required to remove the clearing
agent and proper impregnate the specimen
> ____________________-example of automatic tissue processing machine.
The machine is mounted on rollers to permit the turning of platforms and easy access to
beakers and wax baths
MICROTOMY:
^___________________-a process by which a tissue can be trimmed or sectioned to facilitate
studies under the microscope.
^the basic instrument used is a _______________ that is capable of cutting a section at a
predetermined thickness by sliding the block into a cutting tool, usually a steel knife, glass or
diamond blade, which is fixed and attached to the machine.
^The __________________ consists of 3 essential parts:
^__________________ where the tissue is held in position
 ^__________________ for actual cutting of tissue sections
^__________________ to line up the tissue block in proper position
with the knife, adjusting the proper thickness of the tissue for successive sections

> (5) kinds of microtomes:

^__________________ for cutting serial sections of large blocks of
paraffin embedded tissues.