Preparing tissue

Guidelines

  • Sections in the same orientation: Try to have all sections mounted in the same Z orientation (right side up); it is much easier to flip the occasional upside-down section than to re-orient all of your sections in the program.
  • Have sections mounted in order on slides: The bottom of one section is aligned with the top of the next section to facilitate continuity of tracing.
  • Keep track of any missing sections in your notebook. It can be very frustrating to search for the ‘next’ section during neuron reconstruction if it is not there.
  • Don’t try to mount too many sections per slide and don’t try to mount them too close to the edges of the slide (especially the left and right edges); you may not be able to trace all the way to the edge of the slide without the condenser cap hitting the bottom of the stage.

Corrective tools