SECTION TWO 



Technique: 



1. The piece of tissue, selected for microscopic examination 

 from freshly excised material taken in the operating theatre, 

 should preferably not be much over 7 mm. in diameter, and about 

 3 to 4mm. in thickness: if the piece of tissue is too large, the 

 size of the section cut will be difficult to handle without folding. 



2. Cut sections at 10 to 15// at a temperature of —10° to 

 — 0'i° C on the freezing microtome, and float them on to distilled 

 water. 



3. Transfer sections to solution C by means of a glass rod and 

 leave therein for ten to fifteen seconds. 



Note: The staining time varies with diflFerent tissues, but the 

 time specified above usually gives the most satisfactory results. 



4. Lift the sections, still on the same glass rod, out of the 

 staining solution and float them through two changes of distilled 

 water. 



5. Transfer, still on the same glass rod, to clean slides. 



6. Place a large drop of the 40% glucose on a coverslip and im- 

 mediately invert it over the section: allow half to one minute to 

 elapse before examining under the microscope. 



Results: 



Cytoplasm is stained magenta red by the erie garnet while 

 nuclei and other basophilic elements are stained polychromatically 

 in shades of blue and violet by the azur A. 



Notes: 



{a) The author, Charles F. Geschickter, of the Garvan Cancer 

 Research Laboratories, Johns Hopkins Hospital and University, 

 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., in his paper (1930), cited below, 

 proposed the technique as an aid to the diagnosis of benign and 

 malignant tumours. 



(b) It is inadvisable to keep a stock solution consisting of a 

 mixture of solutions A and B above, as suggested in the original 

 paper, because azur A, being a basic dye, will combine to form a 

 water-insoluble, compound dye, with erie garnet (which is an 

 acid dye), which will be thrown out of solution. For this reason, 

 I would suggest that two separate stock solutions (A and B above) 

 be kept and mixed as and when required. 



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