A modified processing and sectioning technique for hard tissues.

A new procedure for embedding and sectioning hard tissues was developed to study bone regeneration in relation to carbon implants used in crown and bridge preparations of maxillas and mandibles of nonhuman primates. Tissues were fixed in 10 percent neutral buffered formalin, dehydrated in 95 percent and 100 percent ethyl alcohol, and embedded in a modified Spurr's low-viscosity embedding medium. Tissues were sectioned as thin as 50 to 100 micron with a Buehler Isomet Model 11-1180 low speed saw. Unstained sections, as well as tissue stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Gomori's trichrome, were examined with a light microscope. The sections were of high quality without distortion. This new procedure expedited experimental work because decalcification of tissues was not needed and implants did not fragment.