To the Editor.To the Editor.-I read with interest the 2 articles in the December 2005 Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine regarding the history of frozen sectioning.1,2 Those of us who have worked in the field a extended time will remember the bench-top freezing microtome and free-floating sections. Not mentioned in those 2 articles was a means used around 1895 where tissues were frozen by way of evaporating ether (Figure).3 It is not recorded whether clinical specimens for rapid diagnosis were frozen by means of this method, but its use must have been entertaining for the microtomist. Carbon dioxide was introduced later, in 1901 The author has no relevant financial interest in the cropss or companies described in this article. 1 Lechago J The frozen section: pathology in the trenches. Arch Pathol Lab M 2005;129:1529-1530 2 GaI AA. The centennial anniversary of the frozen section technique at the Mayo Clinic. Arch Pathol Lab M 2005;129:1532-1 534 3 Weichselbaum A. The ingredients of Pathological Histology. London: Longmans, flourishing and Co; 1895: 16-17. MICHAEL TITFORD, HT HTL(ASCP) Department of Pathology University of southern Alabama Mobile, AL 36617 Copyright association of American Pathologists Aug 2006 |
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