Cole-Parmer offers a wide range of products for life science research including histology, microbiology, and cell biology. Products for histology offered by Cole-Parmer include staining dishes, histology reagents, histology stains, and microtomes. Contact our Application Specialists to help you find the right product for your requirement.
Histology is the microscopic study of cells and tissue from plants or animals. This study typically utilizes a small amount of tissue or cells positioned on a slide, which is then examined visually under a microscope. Many methods are used for preparing cells and tissues for viewing. These methods generally include the following steps: Fixation, dehydration, clearing, embedding, sectioning, and staining. Fixation is the use of chemical fixatives to preserve the structural integrity of the cells. After fixation, the sample is dehydrated with a solvent concentration-gradient to remove water. Typical solvents are ethanol and acetone. In addition, our selection of histology dehydrants come ready to use—no need for dilution. Next, a clearing agent such as Toluene or Histochoice Clearing Agent is used as a transition fluid between the dehydration solvent and the embedding media.
A commonly used embedding medium is Paraffin wax. During embedding, the sample is infiltrated with paraffin and then the wax is allowed to cool and harden. The paraffin provides a supporting matrix for the tissue. The paraffin with the embedded tissue is referred to as a block. The block is placed in a microtome and thin slices, called sections, are cut and placed on a microscope slide. Finally the sections are stained with Histological stains to differentiate areas of interest.”