Microtomes Are Cutting Tools That Are Used To Create Incredibly Thin Material Slices Known As Sections

By Author: poojacmi
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Microtomes are important in research because they are employed in microscopy to prepare samples for examination under transmitted light or electron radiation. Depending on the specimen being sliced and the required thickness of the pieces being cut, microtomes employ steel, glass, or diamond blades. For light microscopy, steel blades are used to create histological slices of animal or plant tissues. Sections for light microscopy and very thin sections for electron microscopy are cut with glass blades. For optical and electron microscopy, industrial grade diamond knives are used to slice hard objects such as bone, teeth, and stiff plant matter. Slicing thin slices for electron microscopy is also done using gem-quality diamond blades.

Microtomy is an alternative to electropolishing and ion milling for preparing thin portions of materials such as bones, minerals, and teeth. With section thicknesses ranging from 50 nm to 100 m, microtome sections may be created thin enough to segment a human hair across its width.

Applications of Microtomes-

· Traditional Histology Technique

· Frozen section ...
... procedure

· Electron Microscopy Technique

· Botanical Microtomy Technique

· Spectroscopy Technique