Human Structure Virtual Histology
    Interpretation of Microscopic Structures in Histological Sections
     
     

    The artifacts that can cause confusion are due to problems or imperfections in the technique of slide preparation and must not be interpreted as structural features of the tissue shown.

    The following artifacts are common and may be present in your slide collection. Wrinkles, folds, and knife marks are especially hard to avoid completely and you should expect these artifacts as they are encountered.

    • Wrinkles or folds: well-defined dense-staining regions in the section where detail is obscured.
    • Knife marks: straight cuts or fine lines across the section caused by nicks in the microtome
      knife.
    • Poor fixation (postmortem degeneration): the tissue stains poorly and shows poor microscopic
      detail.
    • Shrinkage or small tears: components are separated from each other giving rise to empty spaces.
    • Precipitates: usually appear as small black particles on the section.

     

    In the accompanying images the arrows indicate knife marks, folds and tears in the eye specimen on the left compared to the specimen on the right. Also, note the variability of colors and staining intensity that can occur with H&E staining.
     

     

     

    Cell structures and organelles.



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