Rabbit cerebellum

Polarised light micrograph of a section of rabbit cerebellum. This Victorian slide mount was made by Professor Karl Thiersch in Leipzig in the 1860s. Blood vessels were injected with dye (carmine; red) before fixing and sectioning the tissue in order to visualise the capillaries whilst retaining some visibility of the brain tissue. This results in a more natural appearance but reduces the clarity of the capillary bed somewhat. This was a newly developed technique at that time. Composite of 152 individual images stitched together. Horizontal width of image is 20 mm.