A Simplified Procedure for Preparation of Undecalcified Human Bone Sections

A new type of apparatus for sectioning samples of hard, undecalcified bone is described. Slices of fresh or archeological human bone 4-5 mm thick are dehydrated and then embedded in epoxy resin. The apparatus used to prepare sections from the resulting blocks consists of a low-speed rim-type diamond cut-off wheel and a slowly advancing table carrying the specimen held in a rotating mount. Sections may be cut at a thickness of 80 μm ± 1%. After cleaning in an ultrasonic bath, these can be mounted on slides for quantitative microscopic examination with transmitted light. Grinding and polishing are not necessary. The results obtained are illustrated.