Swami Vivekanand Subharti University

Dept. of Paramedical Science

ASSIGNMENT ON MICROTOMES

Enrollment No. - 1704000002498 Sub. -Advance laboratory techniques

Sudent’s Name - Mohd. Shahbaz Course - BMLT-3rd year (Batch – 2017)

Father’s Name - Mohd. Arif Date of Submission – May 25, 2020

Submitted to – Vivek Shakya

 MICROTOME

 The means by which tissue can be sectioned and attached to a surface for further
microscopy.
 Derived from the Greek mikros , meaning “small” and temnein, meaning “to cut”.
 It is a mechanical device for cutting thin uniform slices of tissue sections.
 The earliest form of microtomy was the freehand sectioning of fresh or fixed material
using a sharp razor. The section produced , could , with practice,be quite thin and
translucent.
 TYPES OF MICROTOME

Based on the mechanism

 Rocking
 Rotary Rocking
 Rotary
 Base-sledge
 Sliding
 Freezing
 Vibrating
 Saw
 Cryostat
 Ultra
 Laser

ROCKING MICROTOME

 Name derived from the rocking action of the cross arm.

 Oldest in design ,cheap , simpleto use,extremely reliable ,minimum maintenance.
 The Cambridge rocking microtome was the most popular microtome .

MECHANISM OF ACTION
 Knife is fixed, the block of the tissue moves through an arc to stricke the knife .
 Between srokes the block is moved towaeds the knife for the required thikness of sections
by means if a ratchet operated micrometer thread.
 Steady backward and forward movement of the handle gives ribbons of good sections.
 ADVANTAGES
 Can cut section from small blocks of any tissue type.
 The mechanism is simple .
 The mechanism literally last lifetime .
 In emergency can be adapted for frozen section by freezing the tissue with
ethyl chloride spray.

DISADVANTAGES
 Size of block that can be cut is limited .
 Sections are cut in a curved plane.
 Light instrument: advisable to fit it into a tray which is screwed to the bench
, or to place it on a dump cloth to avoid movement during cutting.
 The cutting anhle of the knife cannot be adjusted.
 No serial section is possible.
 ROTARY MICROTOME
 TYPES OF ROTARY MICROTOME
 Manual
 Semi-automated
 Fully automated

MANUAL ROTARY MICROTOME

 Completely manipulated by the operator.

SEMI-AUTOMATED ROTARY MICROTOME

 One motor to advance either the fine or coarse handwheel.

FULLY AUTOMATED ROTARY MICROTOME

 Two motors that drive both the fine and the coarse advance hand-wheel.

ADVANTAGE OF ROTARY MICROTOME

 Ability to cut thin2-3mm section .
 Heavier, so more stable .
 Large and heavier knife is adjustable .
 Easy adaptation to all types .
 Can cut celloidin-embedded section by using a special holder to set the knife
obliquely.
 Ideal for cutting serial section : laege number of section from each block.
 ROTARY ROCKING MICROTOME

 This is slightly more robust than the rocking microtome and has the advantage of
producing a flat face to the tissue block .
 Most of them have a retracting mechanism which takes the tissue block away
from the knife on the upward stroke.
 Although the can be used for paraffin wax work they are used more commonly in
cryostats.
 Most widely used ,also called Minot microtomy , after this inventor professor
Mitot.
 The knife is stationary and the block is moved up and down in a vertical plane by
the rotary action of the hard wheel.
 Suitable for paraffin sections.

MECHANISM OF ACTION

 The hand wheel rotates through 360 degree moving the specimen vertically past
the cutting surface and returning it to the starting position .
 Block holder is mounted on a steel carriage which moves up and down in grooves
and is advanced by a micrometer screw- cutting perfectly flat section.
 SLIDING MICROTOME

 The knife or blade is stationary , the specimen slides under it during sectioning.
 It was designed mainly for cutting celloidin embedded blocks of tissue .
 It can also be used for paraffin wax embedded section.

ULTRA MICROTOME

 These are used exclusively for electron microscopy .

 Prepare ultrathin section .
 It has been reported that section can be cut as thin as 10 nanometres.
 Knives are usually made from glass , diamound or sapphire.
 The block is brought to the knife edge under microscopical control and as each
section is cut is floated on to a water bath adjacent to the knife edge.
 CRYOSTAT MICROTOME

 Cryostat is a refrigerated cabinet in which a specially microtome is housed.

 All the controls for the cabinet are operated outside the cabinet.
 The introduction of fluorescent antibody staining techniques by coons, creech, and jones
1941 led to a need for thin section (3-4) of fresh frozen tissue free of ice crystal defect .
 So it must be quick frozen at a very low temp, and section cut without allowing the tissue
to thaw.

PRINCIPLE
When the tissue is frozen , the interstitial water turns into ice, tissue becomes firm and acts as
an embedding medium.

USES
 Rapid production of section for intraoperative diagnosis.
 Diagnostic and research enzyme histochemistry for labile enzymes.
 Immunoflourscent methodology.
 Diagnostic and research non enzymes histochemistry i.g. lipids and some
carbohydrates.