EMBEDDING 1 1 



or when the object to be cut is small, or easily damaged, 

 it is more convenient to embed in some easily fusible 

 substance : by this means also the form of the object 

 is less likely to be distorted in the process of cutting. 

 Various substances, or mixtures of substances, are used 

 for this purpose, of which the following is perhaps the 

 best : 



Solid paraffin (melting-point about 58 C.) : 2 parts. 

 Vaseline : 1 part. 



These must be melted together and well stirred. 

 The resulting substance is -sufficiently transparent to 

 enable the exact position of the object to be ascertained ; 

 it is easy to cut, and it is readily soluble in carbolic acid 

 and turpentine. The relative proportions of paraffin 

 and vaseline may be varied somewhat to suit the object ; 

 a softer mixture is produced by increasing the pro- 

 portion of vaseline. Samples of paraffin which vary in 

 hardness and melting point may be obtained from the 

 dealers, the softer paraffin with low melting point will 

 be the most useful. 



The ordinary method of embedding is to make a 

 cavity in a piece of the substance sufficiently large to 

 contain the object, which, if fresh, must have been 

 previously washed with alcohol to remove all traces of 

 water from its surface. If the object had been pre- 

 viously preserved in alcohol, all superfluous fluid must 

 be removed from the surface with blotting-paper, but 

 care must be taken that the spirit which permeates the 

 tissue shall not evaporate. The object is then placed 

 in the cavity, and without unnecessary delay a small 

 quantity of the embedding substance, melted over a 



