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Electron microscopy

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Question
Answer
Able to resolve structures 0.0004 microns apart   Electron microscope  
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Magnification range of x1000 to x500,000   Electron microscope  
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Obtain extra resolving power by replacing the light source of a light microscope w/an electronic gun   Electron microscope  
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an electrified tungsten filament that emits electrons   Electric gun  
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the electric gun,electron beam and specimen are all maintained under the   vacuum  
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aimed at the specimen and focused by varying the strength of electromagnetic fields   Electron beam  
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is visualized by projection onto a fluorescent screen   resulting image  
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specimen either transmits electrons producing clear areas in the image electron-lucent   transmission electron microscope  
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deflects electrons producing dark areas in the image-electron-defencse   transmission electron microscope  
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a two-dimensional image is seen   transmission electron microscope  
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used to dx kidney diseases and tumor identification   transmission electron microscope  
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an electronic beam sweeps across the surface of a specimen resulting in a three dimensional image   scanning electron microscope  
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its hightes effective magnification is much less than the transmission electron microscope but it has a greaterd depth of focus   scanning electron microscope  
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used to study cell surfaces   scanning electron microscope  
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used primarily in research   scanning electron microscope  
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provides excellent preservation of cytologic detail   advantages of primary osmium tetroxide fixation  
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renders lipids insoluble, giving excellent memebrane preservation   advantages of primary osmium tetroxide fixation  
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specimens can not be left in fixative for more than 2-4 hours   disadvantages of primary osmium tetroxide fixation  
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penetration is poor so specimens must be minced to 1mm cubes   disadvantages of primary osmium tetroxide fixation  
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hitochemical studies can not be performed   disadvantages of primary osmium tetroxide fixation  
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allows better penetration   advantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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histochemical studies can be performed   advantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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EM can be performed on specimens fixed for a long time   advantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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Formaldehyde and formaldehyde-gluteraldehyde mixtures serve as dual purpose   advantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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can be used for easy perfusion of tissue   advantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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when followed by postosmication optimum preservation of cellular details is achieved   advantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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lipids are not preserved unless secondary osmium tetroxide fixation is employed   disadvantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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membrane-bound cavities are slightly enlarged beyond a desirable limit   disadvantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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membranes are electron lucent (clear areas in the image) unless secondary osmium tetroxide fixation is employed   disadvantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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also known as zamboni/buffered picric acid formaldehyde   PAF  
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specimen can remain at room temperature indefinitely w/o compromising morphology   advantages of primary buffered PAF fixation  
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penetrates tissue rapidly and stabilizes cellular proteins   advantages of primary buffered PAF fixation  
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can be used to fix tissue for light and electron microscope   advantages of primary buffered PAF fixation  
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lipids arent well preserved unless secondary osmium tetroxide fixation is employed   disadvantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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some cytoplasmic granules and lysosomes may not be preserved   disadvantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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some background substances may not be preserved   disadvantages of primary aldehyde fixation  
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similar to processing for light microscopy   processing for EM  
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ehthyl alcohol is most commonly used reagent   dehydration  
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acetone, dioxane, 2-ethoxyethanol and dimethyl formamide have been successfully used   dehydration  
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correspond to clearing agents in paraffin embedding.   transitional solvents  
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they are necessary with most epoxy and polyester resin embedments because alcohol will mix very slowly w/epoxy resins and not polyester resin mixture   transitional solvents  
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used with epoxy resins and can be used with polyester resins but styrene is the transitional solvent of choice for polyester resins   propylene oxide  
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was the earliest used embedding media   methylacrylate  
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its advantage was that it would partially volatize in the electron beam, enhancing specimen contrast to such a degree. no stain was necessary for tissue fixed with osmium tetroxide   methylacrylate  
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disadvantage the electron microscope would have to be cleaned weekly instead of every several months   methylacrylate  
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is a polyester resin used for embedding, sections well but must be obtained by foreign sources   vestopal W  
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epon, spurr, and araldite   most commonly used epoxy resins (embedding media)  
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most difficult technique in EM   sectioning  
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have microtome table free of vibration and in a draft free area   sectioning for EM  
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trim the block so that there is a small face to section   sectioning for EM  
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use lens paper to keep the trough liquid of your diamond knife clean when in use   sectioning for EM  
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haste makes waste   do not hurry  
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dont let fingers touch the knife, forceps or any equipment that will be in contrast w/t trough liquied or thin sections   because oil or cellular debris will contaminate the sections  
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oil may be removed by rinsing the blade with acetone and then with water   use oil-free blade  
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Thin sections vary from 50-90 nm   sectioniong for EM  
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how can thickness be accurately determined   from the interference colors shown by the section as they float in the collecting trough  
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Fairly thick sections show bright colors such as purple, blue, green, yellow   Section thickness  
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50nM thick   Silver sections  
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are too think for use   gray sections  
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give rise to the colors and the color varies very precisely with the distance between the two surfaces   intereference between rays of light reflected from the upper and lower surfaces of the sections  
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used for most thin sectioning   Diamond knives  
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have been used for cutting .5 micron sections.   glass knives  
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What knives are used today   low grade diamond knives  
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avoid touching the edge of the knife with any solid object   use and care of diamond knifes  
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as the sealing material between the knife and the boat may dissolve or destroy the cellular material   avoid using solvents in the trough of the boat  
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do not allow sections to dry on the cutting edge of the knife   section drying  
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remove all unused sections w/hair or eyelash and clean the knife   immediately after picking up the sections  
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use cleaning rod specifically designed for   diamond knife  
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do not use sonication to the cleaning knife   it can loosen the mounting and cement sealing of the sides of the knife  
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it should be soaked overnight in a dilute solution of a nonionic detergent w/a neutral pH. after soaking the knife, rinse w/distilled water and clean with the cleaning rod   if sections have been allowed to dry on the knife edge  
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different types of specimens, require   different types of knives  
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upper and lower edges not parallel   retrim  
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block sides unequal in length   retrim  
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check tightness of specimen block, knife holder and knife   sections are varying rather than uniform thickness  
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knife may be dull   sections are varying rather than unifrom thickness  
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try a faster or slower cutting speed   sections are varying rather than uniform thickness  
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block may be soft heat at 60C for 24 hours   sections are varying rather than uniform thickness  
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check for drafts and air conditioning that may be causing temperature variations   sections are varying rather than uniform thickness  
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check microtome and table for vibrations, keep a steady cutting rhythm   sections are of varying rather than uniform thickness  
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reset microtome advance   sections are skipped or not cut at all  
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knife may be dull   sections are skipped or not cut at all  
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tighten knife and specimen block firmly   sections are skipped or not cut at all  
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block face may be wet-dry with lens paper   sections are skipped or not cut at all  
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block may be soft   sections are skipped or not cut at all  
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check microtome and table for vibrations keep a steady cutting rhythm   sections are skipped or not cut at all  
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reduce cutting speed   chatter or undulations in sections  
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reduce knife clearance angle   chatter or undulations in sections  
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reduce the size of the block face   chatter or undulations in sections  
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check microtome and table for vibrations, do not touch unless manually operated   chatter or undulations in sections  
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raise meniscus level of trough fluid   sections crumble or stick to knife edge  
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clean knife edge   sections crumble or stick to knife edge  
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increase knife clearance angle   sections crumble or stick to knife edge  
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block face may be dirty, clean with lens paper and alcohol   sections crumble or stick to knife edge  
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lower meniscus level of the trough fluid   section lifted by specimen block  
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dry block face with lens paper   section lifted by specimen block  
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increase clearance angle   section lifted by specimen block  
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clean knife edge   section lifted by specimen block  
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block face may be electrified, increase room humidity or touch block face with wet lens paper   section lifted by specimen block  
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check back of knife facet or fluid droplet dry with lens paper   section lifted by specimen block  
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nick in knife cutting edge   split sections or lengthwise lines in sections  
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clean knife edge   split sections or lengthwise lines in sections  
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block may contain glass or dirt,discard block or use and old knife   split sections or lengthwise lines in sections  
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lower meniscus level of trough fluid   face of specimen block gets wet  
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dry the back edge of knife cuttin facet   face of specimen block gets wet  
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increase the room humidity   face of specimen block gets wet  
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staining .5 micron sections for viewing w/the light microspe, staining thin sections 50nm for viewing w/the electron microscope   two types of staining  
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stains .5 micron sections   toluidine blue-basic fuchsin  
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polychromatic   toluidine blue-basic fuchsin  
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nuclei-dark purple   toluidine blue-basic fuchsin  
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cytoplasm-pink to lavender   toluidine blue-basic fuchsin  
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fat - gray/green to gray/blue   toluidine blue-basic fuchsin  
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red blood cells - magenta   toluidine blue-basic fuchsin  
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stains .5 micron sections   toluidine blue  
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nuclei - dark purple   toluidine blue  
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cytoplasm - lavender   toluidine blue  
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fat gray/green to gray/blue   toluidine blue  
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red blood cells - deep blue/purple   toluidine blue  
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stains thin sections   lead citrate solution  
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results: tissue structures will either deflect electrons (electron dense) and will appear as dark structures on the fluorescent screen   lead citrate solution  
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they will transmit electrons (electron lucent) and will be pale to invisible   lead citrate solution  
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the heavy metal stains take up the structures that appear electron dense (membrane)   lead citrate solution  
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View the relationship between cells and the ulatrastructure of the cell itself   transmission electron microscope  
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plamalemma with no breaks, nuclear envolope uniform udilated space between inner and outer membranes, mitochondria no swelling   good fixation shows  
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endoplasmic reticulum regular width and regular arrangement of cisterns or channels   good fixation shows  
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cytoplasm - finely precipitated and not too obvious in most cells   good fixation shows  
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nucleus - appearance varies with fixative, osmium - finely granular, aldehyde aggregated chromatin masses   good fixaton shows  
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pH solutions are buffered between 7.2-7.4.   Factors influencing fixation  
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phosphate, cacodylate,s-collidine and veronal acetate   most common buffers  
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Temperature room temp was previously done at 4c but that caused swellin of perinuclear membrane and destruction of microtubules   Factors influencing fixation  
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Tonicity - should be that of blood plasma around 300 MOsm. fixatives are not ostomotically active dextrose and sucrose are used to adjust tonicity   factors influencing fixation  
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can remain indefinetely in formaldehyde, buffered PAF and formaldehyde-gluteraldehyde   Length of fixation  
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gluteraldehyde 2-4hours then move to a buffer   length of fixation  
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osmium tetroxide 1-2 hours then process   lenght of fixation  
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90nM thick   gold sections  
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