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Histology (from the Greek ?st??) is the study of the microscopic anatomy of cells and tissues of plants and animals. It is performed by examining a thin slice of tissue under a light microscope. Histology is an essential tool of biology and medicine. The trained scientists who perform the preparation of histological sections are histotechnicians, histology technicians (HT), histology technologists (HTL), medical scientists, medical laboratory technicians, or biomedical scientists. Their field of study is called histotechnology. Fixatives and Preservatives are used to preserve the tissue, the structures of the cell, and the cell organelles found in the individual cells (e.g., nucleus, rough endoplasmic reticulum,and mitochondria). The tissues are mechanically and biochemically stabilized in a fixative. The most common fixative is neutral buffered formalin (10% formaldehyde in Phosphate buffered saline (PBS)). It is important to consider that a fixative should not be too toxic to its handler, and it should not damage the tissue being preserved. The most common technique is wax processing. The samples are immersed in multiple baths of progressively more concentrated ethanol to dehydrate the tissue, followed by a clearing agent, such as xylene or Histoclear, and finally hot molten paraffin wax (impregnation). During this 12- to 16-hour process, paraffin wax replaces the xylene.
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