ABSTRACT

It is important to examine liver tissue ultrastructure in pathologies of infections and storage diseases. The aim of this study was to assess the effects and advantages of various fixatives on liver ultrastructure and to minimize the methodological errors during the fixation of liver tissue for transmission electron microscopy.

Five Wistar rats were used. After the rats were perfused with 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA), tissues were extracted and immersed with four different fixation techniques:

I- Trump’s solution 4% paraformaldehyde (PFA) and 1% glutaraldehyde (G)

II- 2% F and 2.5% G with 2.5 mM CaCl

III- 2% PFA and 2.5% G

IV- 2.5% G in 0.1M Cacodylate buffer

Samples were embedded, cut, stained and examined with transmission electron microscope.

Samples were scored and analyzed.

The plasma membrane and cellular junctions were better preserved in group I and II. The best mitochondria structure was in group IV. The total score rank from the highest to the lowest was as follows: Group I, IV, II, and III.

The results for the samples fixed in Trump’s fixative were better than those achieved by other fixing agents.

Keywords: Fixatives, liver, technique, transmission electron microscope (T.E.M.)