Development of Histological Embedding Medium “Shiojirin -E” for Sections Including Hard Tissues

Abstract

An embedding medium “Celloidin”, supplied by T. Co., was used for histological sections including hard tissues. In Japan, however, “Celloidin” was not obtainable from T. Co. because it is no longer produced. Therefore, it was decided to develop a new histological embedding medium replacing “Celloidin”. After trial and error, a new embedding medium “Shiojirin-E”, made chiefly of cellulose nitrate, was produced. The name of “Shiojirin” came from the address of Matsumoto Dental College. The composition is: cellulose nitrate 10.00 g, ethanol 42.85 g, diethyl ether 42.85 g, and others 4.30 g (Total 100.00 g). When the specimens are not so big, it is easy to obtain 3-5 micronthick-sections like paraffin sections. These results indicate that the new developed “Shiojirin -E” is a useful embedding medium for sections including hard tissues