Kharalkar Nachiket M, Bauserman Steven C, Valvano Jonathan W
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station C0803, Austin, TX 78712, USA.
J Biomech Eng. 2009 Jul;131(7):074508. doi: 10.1115/1.3147745.
Effect of formalin fixation on thermal conductivity of the biological tissues is presented. A self-heated thermistor probe was used to measure the tissue thermal conductivity. The thermal conductivity of porcine aorta, fat, heart, and liver was measured before the formalin fixation and then 1 day, 4 days, and 11 days after formalin fixation. The results indicate that the formalin fixation does not cause a significant change in the tissue thermal conductivity of the tissues studied. In the clinical setting, tissues removed surgically are often fixed in formalin for subsequent pathological analysis. These results suggest that, in terms of thermal properties, it is equally appropriate to perform in vitro studies in either fresh tissue or formalin-fixed tissue.
