Techniques for Sectioning Undecalcified Bone Tissue Using Microtomes

Abstract

The first ``cutting machine'' for preparing sections of soft tissues was introduced by Cummings in 1770. The prototype, a metal cylinder that contained the specimen, usually a plant, was screwed by hand into the path of a knife to make a tissue slice. In 1835, Pritchard clamped a similar instrument to a table for greater stability. A section was then prepared with a two-handled knife by cutting across the specimen. Eventually, Chevalier introduced the name ``microtome'' for these devices in 1839. The development of a sliding mechanism for cutting machines began as early as 1798 as a method to section large tissue specimens. With hand-held knives barely adequate for cutting small specimens, rotary microtomes were introduced by scientific investigators in 1883 and 1886 for greater precision and uniform section thickness. In this case, the specimen passed through into a stable stationary knife. The Spencer Lens Company, between 1901 and 1910, manufactured the first clinical microtome and a larger, precision laboratory microtome.8 However, these early devices were inadequate for sectioning mineralized tissues unless the mineral could be removed by a decalcification process. At the time, mineralized bone had to be cut with a saw into relatively thick sections, and ground to a desired thickness.