ISOLATION AND STUDY OF THE ELASTIC TISSUE NETWORK OF THE LUNG IN 3 DIMENSIONS

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Abstract
The human lung consists partly of an extensive elastic tissue network which cannot be well visualized under the microscope in conventional thin sections. Corrosion of blocks of lung with warm 88% formic acid will leave the pulmonary elastic network as a residue. This structure can then be embedded in gelatin and examined in three dimensions under the binocular dissecting microscope. Blocks from the lungs of 40 normal subjects have been studied by this method. In general, the distribution of elastic tissue conforms to that previously described by the more labori- ous method of serial sections. This new method can be used to study natural or experimental alterations in the connective tissue of the lung.