A microtome is a mechanical instrument used to cut very thin slices for microscopic examination. Most microtomes use a steel blade and are used to prepare sections of animal, plant or human tissues for histology. The most common applications of microtomes are: Histology is the study of tissue sectioned as a thin slice, using a microscope. ...
Traditional histological technique: tissues are hardened by replacing water with paraffin. Sections are stained and examined with a visible light microscope. Sections are 2 to 10 micrometres thick.
Cryosection: water-rich tissues are hardened by freezing and cut frozen; sections are stained and examined with a light microscope. This technique is much faster than traditional histology (5 minutes vs 16 hours) but the quality is poor.
Electron microscopy: after embedding tissues in epoxy resin, a microtome equipped with a glass or diamond knife is used to cut very thin sections (typically 60 to 100 nanometers). Sections are stained and examined with a transmission electron microscope. This instrument is often called an ultramicrotome. Some ultramicrotomes have diamond edges.
Botanical microtomy: hard materials like wood, bone and leather require a sledge microtome. These microtomes have heavier blades and cannot cut as thin a regular microtomy.
Microtome blades are extremely sharp, and should be handled with great care, especially in the larger sizes. Paraffin is a common name for a group of high molecular weight alkane hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2, where n is greater than about 20, discovered by Carl Reichenbach. ... 1852 microscope Compound microscope made by John Cuff in 1750 A microscope (Greek: micron = small and scopos = aim) is an instrument for viewing objects that are too small to be seen by the naked or unaided eye. ... Electron microscope The electron microscope is a microscope that can magnify very small details with high resolving power due to the use of electrons rather than light to scatter off material, magnifying at levels up to 500,000 times. ...
Microtome in accordance with claim 4, characterized in that the electronic control (44) is connected to at least one sensor means (58,59) for detecting a reversal position of the sample holder.
Microtome in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that said reversal position is a position of said sample holder at the beginning of said cutting movement (arrow 54).
Microtome in accordance with claim 5, characterized in that said reversal position is a position of said sample holder at the end of said cutting movement (arrow 54).
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