The influence of fixation procedure, embedding medium and section thickness on morphometric data in thyroid gland

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Abstract
In this study, the effects of fixation procedures, embedding medium and section thickness on stereological measurements of normal thyroid were analysed. The following conclusions were drawn: the use of a single section for the analysis of a lobe is sufficient if this section is located in the central part of the lobe. fixation and embedding with glutaraldehyde-Epon leads to a larger shrinkage than Bouin-paraplast, but the difference between the two procedures is not significant. osmium post-fixation reduces the shrinkage induced by glutaraldehyde and lowers the axial deformation produced by sectioning. Bouin's fixative and paraplast embedding induce considerable shrink-age of the interstitial tissue. The shrinkage obtained with glutaraldehyde-Epon is less. However, it is still not known whether this difference is due to the fixative, or to the embedding procedure or to both. only in glutaraldehyde and osmium-fixed material, embedded in Epon, can follicles and colloids be assumed to be spherical in shape without significant errors.