A METHOD FOR LABELING SLIDES USED IN ROUTINE 

 STOOL EXAMINATIONS 



By Frank G. Haughwout 

 Of the Department of Parasitology, University of the Philippines 



ONE TEXT FIGURE 



When large numbers of stools are examined, either in the 

 course of routine clinical laboratory work or in research, the 

 problem of numbering the slides used sometimes presents dif- 

 ficulties that may lead to confusion in recording the results. 

 Various workers are accustomed to identify their slides by at- 

 taching to one end an ordinary gummed label, by etching the 

 number or symbol on the glass with hydroflouric acid, by scratch- 

 ing it in with a diamond pencil, or by writing on it with a wax 

 pencil. All these methods are troublesome in one way or an- 

 other. Pasted labels are apt to absorb moisture and come off 

 in the solutions, or they may become so discolored from the 

 staining solutions. that the figures become undecipherable; hy- 

 droflouric acid and the diamond pencil make a permanent record 

 on the slide which may lead to confusion in another or the same 

 series ; figures written with a wax pencil are not always legible, 

 they frequently come off in the solutions and, in a tropical labor- 

 atory where the temperature is constantly high, the lightest 

 touch with the fingers transforms the record into a smudge. 



No originality is claimed for the method which is here de- 

 scribed. It is so simple and practical that it is difficult to 

 believe that no other worker has thought of and applied it. Its 

 essential feature is the ordinary wire paper clip (fig. 1, a) used 

 to hold sheets of paper together, and which may be purchased 

 of almost any stationer. The record is made on paper labels 

 measuring 2.5 by 2.5 centimeters. 



One end of the paper clip is slightly bent as shown in fig. 1, 

 b, so that it will slip easily over the edge of the slide and yet 

 hold the paper label firmly. A stock of clips with bent ends 

 may be kept on the work table. 



In operation the number or symbol is written with a lead 

 pencil near the lower margin of the label which is then folded 

 at the middle, hung over the end of the slide, and secured with 

 the paper clip as shown in fig. 1, c. By this procedure about 1 

 centimeter of the label is exposed and the characters may be 



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