PURPOSE In a prior study, it has been reported that glaucomatous eyes have a significantly lower density of pores in the inner wall of Schlemm's canal than do normal eyes. However, in that study the glaucomatous eyes were fixed at much lower flow rates than the normal eyes, and that is now known to affect inner wall pore density. The objective of the current study was to compare the inner wall'...

Ninety-five percent (95%) ethanol is the standard cytological fixative used in many laboratories. Commercially available ethanol is expensive and not freely available in some institutions. Methanol, a tissue dehydrant, is also known to be a cytological fixative. However its efficacy has not been assessed or documented in the literature. One hundred and eight consecutive fine needle aspiration b...

The simplest architectural arrangement favored for infectious virus particles involves the encapsulation of a core of nucleic acid (either DNA or RNA) in a coat or capsid of antigenic protein. For a fine structure fixative to be a suitable candidate for viral cytochemistry, it must allow at least the identification and localization of these two fundamental moities. Such a fixative should preser...

A 62-year-old male, previously well, was referred to neurology clinic following 6 months history of worsening lower limbs instability, paraesthesia, pain and weakness rendering him housebound. Examination revealed upper motor neuron pattern of weakness of the lower limbs and loss of proprioception. Serum analysis revealed reduced caeruloplasmin and copper levels with raised zinc. Spinal imaging...

The 9 + 2 array of ciliary and fiagellar tubules was described in the early days of electron micros-copy when osmium tetroxide was the standard fixative. Cytoplasmic microtubules, which are not generally in evidence after osmium tetroxide fixation, were rarely seen until after the advent of aldehyde fixatives. In some glutaraldehyde-OsO4-fixed material, flagellar and ciliary tubules are