Examination of fixing method for vaginal smear specimen in rodent

Abstract

Introduction

Giemsa stained vaginal smear specimens are prepared for checking the estrous cycles of rodents in non-clinical studies. Methanol, a deleterious substance, is used to fix the specimens after drying. Since the management of deleterious substances has been strengthened in recent years, we tried using ethanol instead to eliminate the use of deleterious substances.

Materials and methods

The vaginal smears of rats and mice were fixed with ethanol for 20 seconds after drying. Then we stained the specimens with Giemsa solution.

Results

There was no problem with the stainability of the specimens, and no difference from the methanol-fixed specimens with was seen.