Microtome

Day 17: When preparing specimens for viewing through a compound microscope, tissue should be sliced as thinly as possible. This is extremely difficult to do by hand, although it is possible to obtain a workable section of soft material such as a lichen apothecium. A better solution is to use a microtome. The tissue is mounted in dental wax or paraffin if it is too small to be placed directly in the central chamber and then a slice is made with a straight razor to remove the end. By turning the dial at the base of the microtome, the mounted tissue can be advanced in 1-micron increments. With practice, it is possible to make cuts as thin as 1 micron. This will allow you to view the cellular structure of botanical specimens.