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Semi Automatic Microtome - Article

A Microtome is sectioning equipment used to cut very thin sections of material for microscopic examination. The material can be plant/animal tissue or plastic, wood etc. This article is about semi automatic microtome used in histopathology studies

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310 views1 page

Semi Automatic Microtome - Article

A Microtome is sectioning equipment used to cut very thin sections of material for microscopic examination. The material can be plant/animal tissue or plastic, wood etc. This article is about semi automatic microtome used in histopathology studies

Uploaded by

Medimeas
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Semi-Automatic Microtome

A Microtome is sectioning equipment used to cut very thin sections of material for microscopic
examination. The material can be plant/animal tissue or plastic, wood etc. This article is about semi
automatic microtome used in histopathology studies

In a Semi Automatic Microtome, the section thickness required can be conveniently adjusted and
generally varies between 0.25-100 microns. A microtome has a fixed knife/disposable blade, firmly held
at the base and a moving specimen feed holder. The rotary motion of the handwheel is converted into
vertical up-down motion of the specimen feed which gets sliced into thin sections on coming into
contact with the sharp edge of the stationary blade during the downward stroke.

Section thickness depends on the forward advance of the specimen feed relative to the blade. More the
advance, thicker the sections. This forward advance of the specimen feed is controlled through a
stepper motor in a semi automatic microtome. A microprocessor controller can precisely control this
advance and the section thickness gets displayed on the LCD screen. Fast Forward and Fast Backward
buttons are provided to adjust the specimen feed with respect to the blade prior to the commencement
of sectioning. Also, the angle of knife blade can be adjusted for fine tuning the section thickness.

A retracting mechanism is provided in which the specimen moves backward, with respect to the knife,
during the return stroke. This is to prevent damage to both the knife and the specimen.

The Anti-roll plate prevents curling/ rolling of the cut sections and therefore produces high quality
sections that require minimum handling. A finger protection guard is a standard feature in a microtome.
It is basically a cover that guards the sharp knife edge. The user flips down the guard only during the
actual sectioning.

Another important feature in a Semi- Automatic Microtome is the limit indicator, either LED or sound
based, for protecting the knife from the specimen feed holder. They alert the user when the specimen
holder reaches too close to the knife. Also, Microtomes generally have a heavy base to provide for
vibration free operation. A section waste tray around the cutting platform collects the wastes during
sectioning.

© 2011 Medimeas Instruments

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