As above. Need to take some close-up reference photographs of a Spadefoot Toad fixed in 70% ethanol and was wondering whether it is possible to remove from solution without causing major damage to the tissues. Is this possible?
Frankly I dont have a real answer. It is H2O and O2 which is problematic for DNA structure. If you are talking with histology, i guess it depends. Howeve, if you are talking about morphology with a alcohol level at the tip of toes, if internal organs were soaked with solution, it endures several months if you do not let the lid open.
Photographs of preserved specimens of anurans (or of any fluid preserved specimen), including close-up takes of morphological details, have better results with the specimen immerse in the preservation fluid (normally ethanol alcohol at 70 Gay-Lussac degrees). Do not use water, because the specimen will float and the photograph becomes virtually impossible to make. If it is necessary or interesting to take pictures outside the fluid, normally the specimens are very resistant. Special attention must be given to the eyes, which become withered after exposed to air, and to the fingers tips, which become dry. In these situations, the specimen must be immersed in the preservation fluid and the turgidity is recovered. Also it is possible to involve the specimen with a cloth piece wetted in water, with only the structure to be photographed exposed; in this case, it is necessary only to observe if this part is drying. After the photographs, the specimen must be quickly devolved to its vial.
Thank you for the information both. I just need to take some reference photos of the specimen for texturing work later on, so it probably will not be removed from the fluid for too long, if removal is even necessary.
Cheers
I have worked with specimens preserved in formalism, were good for gross morphological studies..... they stand indefinitely ...... some time glycerin id added to prevent brittleness.
Ethanol (unlike formalin) damages tissues for histo-morphological studies of a given specimen by gradually extracting their lipids, which substantially alters their original shape. Therefore, the answer to the question would extensively vary depending on the size of the specimen in problem and the portion of tissues to be examined. Anyway, I could not take good information regarding gamete cycle by sectioning testes removed from marine toads (whole body) left in 75% ethanol for five years.
I am not an expert to answer. But what we do is this-
1) If we need to preserve specimen, we collect tissue in 100% ethanol and preserve the specimen in buffered formalin and then transfer to 70% ethanol. Sometimes glycerol is added to maintain the softness of specimen. Such specimens give nice results for photography.
2) To take the photographs, we setup an aquarium containing water with black colored velvet cloth in background. the specimen is held in place with glass plate placed in aquarium. The images of type specimens in our paper are taken in this manner.
3) For histology however, the regular procedure should be followed.
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