CHAPTER XXXIV 
Fixatives* 
i . Flemmings Solution .— 
Chromic acid, I per cent. - 15 vols. 
Osmic acid, 2 per cent. - 4 vols. 
Glacial acetic acid 1 vol. 
Mix in the above proportions before use. Use 
very small pieces of tissue. Fixation is complete in 
about twenty-four hours. Wash well in water, and 
transfer gradually to eighty per cent, alcohol. 
2. Sublimate-alcohol .— 
Saturated watery solution of corrosive 
sublimate - - - - - 2 parts. 
Absolute alcohol - - - - 1 part. 
Fix small pieces for two or three hours more or 
less according to size. Transfer to eighty per cent, 
alcohol. Wash out the sublimate from the sections 
with Lugol’s solution. Faeces containing Amoebae can 
be preserved by shaking up in this fixative and pre¬ 
serving in tubes. 
3. Acetic Alcohol .— 
Glacial acetic acid - - - 1 part. 
Absolute alcohol - - 3 parts. 
Penetrates and fixes rapidly, according to the size 
of the tissue. It should be used where chitinous 
structures exist. Wash out the acid in alcohol. 
*For diagnostic purposes dried smear preparations are of great value, but for 
studying the parasite in its relation to the tissues, e.g. in Leishmania donovani or 
Histoplasma capsulata , or in malaria, it is necessary to cut sections, and for this 
purpose the tissues must have been carefully prepared previously. 
