A new plastic for morphometric investigation of blood vessels, especially in large organs such as the human liver

Abstract

In this paper a technique is described, using Araldite CY 223 and hardener HY 2967 as injection material, for preparing corrosion casts or histological sections. The plastic has a viscosity (at 39–40°C) similar to that of blood, a gelling time of approximately 17min (at 40°C), and an exothermic transition energy of ΔH = 80.28 ± 3.20 cal/gm. The influence of the plastic on the tissue is discussed. The histological sectioning of fixed tissue containing Araldite-filled blood vessels after embedding in 2-hydroxyethyl-methacrylate (GMA) is described. When using GMA in a modification of the mixtures of Ruddell (1967) and Sims (1974), methylbenzoate is recommended as an intermedium in order to obtain a more uniform infiltration and reproducible section thickness. At the same time methylbenzoate is recommended as a storing fluid. Sections of 2–3 μm afford satisfying morphologic and morphometric results. This method allows various arterial wall dimensions to be measured easily, and provides a suitable means to compare histometric values with SEM data derived from corrosion casts.