Frozen sections of bone biopsies in metabolic and other bone diseases

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Abstract
Frozen sections of bone trephine and needle biopsies can be satisfactorily cut in a standard cryostat and, when stained with haematoxylin and eosin, they enable a rapid diagnosis to be made in a wide range of metabolic bone disorders including Paget's disease, osteoporosis, osteomalacia, hyperparathyroidism and renal osteodytrophy. Neoplastic disease of bone may also be diagnosed using the same technique. A tissue diagnosis can be established within an hour of the biopsy being taken, instead of the 1–3 weeks required for resin section diagnosis, with a consequent potential saving in further costly biochemical and radiological investigations, a possible shortening of the patient's stay in hospital and earlier initiation of correct treatment. The method is quick, reliable and highly cost‐effective; it is of particular value in laboratories with insufficient workload to justify the expenditure on specialized microtomes and reagents for resin embedding.