A TECHNIQUE OF OBSERVATION ON PARAFFIN SECTIONS WITH SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPE

The technique for observation on the paraffin sections with SEM is useful for biological researches. The images obtained by this method can show distinet three dimensional structure on the sections. Formerly there were two principal problems with this technique: First, the remanent paraffin in sections influenced the contrast of the images. Second, the missing and place movement of the struetures in the sections occurred because of the buoyancy of the liquid (xylene)in the course of dewaxing. We have solved the two problems in two ways: First, before dewaxing, cover the sections closely with a thin formvar film with many pores to avoid the missing and place movement of the structures. Secondly, dewax the section in a sealed circulative device to raise the efficiency of dewaxing and clear away the remanent paraffin in the sections completely. As a result, very distinct images can be obtained even in high magnificatious.