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A Method of Preparation of Articular Joint and Intervertebral Disc Tissue Section of Normal Rat
Hui-Xian Li1, Shun-Ying Zhu2, Yi-Ping Qi1, Zhong-Hui Zhang2, Wei Han1,2*
1Xinyuan Institute of Medicine and Biotechnology, School of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University of Technology and Sciences, Hangzhou 310018, China; 2Laboratory of Regenromics, School of Pharmacy, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shangha
Abstract: To aid at the histological evaluation of hyaline cartilage and fibrocartilage， we improved a rapid paraffin tissue section method for preparation of rat articular joint and intervertebral disc. After the fixation of the whole rat knee joints and intervertebral disc between T3-T4 of normal rats for 24 h in 10% neutral formalin， the tissues were washed with running water for 30 min， and decalcified with 3 different decalcifying solutions (3% HNO3 decalcifying solutions， 15% EDTA decalcifying solutions and mixed decalcifying solutions). The tissue sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and safranin-O， and observed under a microscope to evaluate the morphology of chondrocytes and the cartilage matrix. The tissues prepared with mixed decalcified solution with stirring at 4 ℃ was superior to the other decalcify solutions. The structure integrity of bone and cartilage of the knee joint and intervertebral disc were maintained. Clear chondrocytes morphologies of articular cartilage and fibrocartilage were revealed by HE， and cartilage matrix was stained with safranin-O. A modified paraffin tissue section method was developed to meet the requirement of histological evaluation of hyaline cartilage of articular joint and fibrocartilage of intervertebral disc of rat.
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