A method of sectioning the whole decalcified body with a knife / R.J. Terry.

  • Terry, Robert J. (Robert James), 1871-1966.
Date:
1900
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: A method of sectioning the whole decalcified body with a knife / R.J. Terry. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    Reprinted from Proceedings of the Association of American An< in Washington, D. C., May i and 2 A mp:thod of sectioning DECALCIFIED BODY WIlT R. J. Terry, M. D., St. Louis, jMo. The application of a decalcifying agent to the whole body for the purpose of so softening -the bones that sections could be cut with a knife, suggested itself after I had seen 'some head specimens prepared by my friend Dr. Sluder. He told me that while studying the nasal region he found it necessary to have sections of the head made in some way other than by freezing and sawing, since this method would not give the re- sults he wished ; and in trying to devise some more suitable procedure hit upon the decalcifying process. We are all familiar with the fact that decalcifying methods are used in histological laboratories, and it is well known that the same means is resorted to to facilitate the gross dissection of cer- tain parts of the body. Whether any one has decalcified the whole human skeleton in situ I am at present unable to say, but all inquiries into the matter have been met with negative answers. Let me take this oportunity of telling my experience in the work, crude as it now is, with the hope of seeing the process developed into a useful one by the aid of those interested enough to try it. Briefly outlined : the method consists in a thorough fixing and hardening of the tissues followed by saturation of the body with a diluted acid ; after a time the bones are found soft enough to be easily cut with a knife. For the preparation of small parts, such, for example, as a hand, it is not necessary to inject either the hardening agent or the acid ; but injection, coupled with immersion, hastens the process. I have found for this work that formaline by itself or with alcohol is better for hardening the tissues than is alcohol alone, and immersion in a 10 per cent, solution for a period varying with the size of the part is quite satisfactory. When the piece has been thoroughly hardened it is to be placed in a jar and covered with a mixture of HCl i part and H2O 10 parts. From time to time the hardness of the bones should be tested with a fine awl, care being taken not to in-