Museum Technique

1. M R . : M A H M O U D I B R A H I M
Museum Techniques

4. Aim
To prepare rare or important specimens for
permanent preservation and display.

5.  Color photographs should be taken whilst it
is still fresh.
 The specimen must never be allowed to dry

6. Types of Medial Museum
 a. History of Medicine Section
 b. Normal Anatomy Section
 c. Morbid (pathological) Anatomy Section
 d. Histology Section
 e. Haematopathology Section
 f. Radiology and Osteology Section
 g. Microbiology and Parasitology Section

7. BASI C MUSEUM TECHNI QUES
 Any specimens for museum are handled by following
steps:
 1. Reception
 2. Preparation
 3. Fixation
 4. Restoration
 5. Preservation
 6. Presentation

8. Reception of the Specimen
 Any specimen received in the museum should be
recorded in a Reception book and given a
number followed by year (e.g.
32/2013).
 The reception book should contain all necessary
information about the specimen (clinical, gross
and microscopic findings).

9. Preparation of the specimens
 An ideal specimen is received fresh in
unfixed state. However, it is mostly
obtained from pathology laboratory after
being examined, thus will already be
formalin fixed.

10.  Specimen can be obtained from:
 Autopsy
 Directly from operation theatre

11. Preparation of the specimens
 Good museum specimens are obtained &
preserved by care & planning at the time of
autopsy.
 Careful treatment after removal.

12.  Must be kept away from water to prevent
hemolysis and discoloration.
 Specimens may be washed in normal saline
solution. Dissection should be neat, with no
ragged or irregular tissue edges using very
sharp knife

13. Formalin fixation is the basis of museum
work (restore color).
General methods used for color restoration
are Kaiserling technique modern
hydrosulphite method.

14. Fixation of the specimens
 Additional rules should be followed in fixing of
museum specimens:
 Specimens should be always injected with fixative if
possible, to ensure adequate fixation(e.g Brain).
 Specimens containing much blood must not be washed
in water at any time, either before or after fixation.

15.  The specimen with it’s attached structures,
must be fixed.
 Cystic cavities, if unopened, are inflated or
if opened are packed with cotton wool
soaked in fixative so as to maintain their
natural shape.

16. The original technique employed
three solutions:
 1. Fixing
 2. Restoring color
 3. A mounting fluid

17. Color restoration (kaiserling)
First: fix the specimen in kaiserling solution
(40% formalin, potassium nitrate,
potassium acetate and tap water) for at
least 2 weeks.

18.  Second: wash in gently RTW
Third: transfer to 80% alcohol for half to 1
hour up to 4 hours to restore the colors that
have been lost during fixation.

19. Fourth: Keep the specimen in museum jar at
pH 8 (N NaOH).
Museum jar contains (40% formalin,
potassium acetate, Glycerin and D.W).

20. Color restoration (Hydrosulphite method)
Color restored by the addition of
hydrosulphite to the mounting medium.
Color is lost during oxidation and that
the reducing agent overcomes this.

21. First: fix the specimen in kaiserling solution
for 1-3 months..
Second: Trim and resurface the specimen,
weight it..

22. Third: transfer to a fluid (formalin, sodium
acetate, Glycerin and water) at pH 7.5 with
disodium hydrogen phosphate for several
days.

23.  Fourth: Transfer specimen to museum jar
contains sodium hydrophoshate

24. Pulvertaft-Kaiserling method
 Solutions:
 1)Kaiserling’s fluid I-fixing fluid
 Formalin 400ml
 Potassium nitrate 30g
 Potassium acetate 60g
 Tap – water to 2000ml

25.  NOTE: Specimens may be transferred to
this fluid either after fixation in formal
saline or directly fixed in it.

26.  2) Kaiserling’s fluid II- To restore color
 Ethyl alcohol 80%
 May be used to restore color in an emergency (color
 photography).
 Not necessary when using a sodium hydrosulphite
mounting fluid.
 The time should be carefully controlled (30 mins-4 hrs).

27.  NOTE: Continued immersion in alcohol has a
 permanent bleaching effect & the color so lost is
not afterwards restored by the mounting fluid.

28.  3) Pulvertaft – Kaiserling mounting fluid
III
 Glycerin 300ml
 Sodium acetate 100g
 Formalin 5ml
 Tap – water to 1000ml

29.  0.4% sodium hydrosulphite is added
immediately before sealing the jar.
 •If the solution is not crystal clear: Should be
filtered through a paper pulp filter.
 30ml of saturated sol. of camphor in alcohol
should be added to 1 litre of the solution.

30. specimens
Certain tissue components can be well
demonstrated in museum specimes by
staining techniques that are similar to those
for tissue sections.

31. Amyloid
Stain the tissue with congo red
method after fixation as above and
then mount in mounting fluid.

32. Hemosiderin and free iron
After fixation, stain with P.P.B and mount in
mounting fluid.

33. Fat
 After fixation, stain with Sudan dye and
then mount in 10% formalin.

34. Tumor tissues
 After fixation, tissue stained with
Haematoxylin and may combined with
suitable staining technique and then
mounted in mounting fluid

35. Mounting in mounting jars
 Plastic jars made of Perspex are
recommended.
They are light, strong, and free from optical
distortion.

36. Specialized museum techniques
Cysts and cavities should be filled with
gelatine in order to preserve their original
shapes. Friable specimens or loose
particles such as small calculi can be
covered with a thin layer of gelatine.

37. Gelatine solution composed of (arsenious
acid, D.W, gelatine).

38. The specimen should be firstly fixed and
then filled with gelatine solution and add
10% formalin to give insoluble gel gelatine
then add glycerin followed by staining the
specimen in victoria blue.

39. Presentation of the Specimen
 Initially all museum specimens were
mounted in cylindrical jars and
sealed with sheep bladder walls.
 Later they were replaced by
rectangular glass jars.

40.  They were better than cylindrical ones as
the flat surfaces afforded a clear view of
specimens without any distortion.
 They are covered by rectangular glass
plates.

41. MUSEUM JARS AND BOXES
 Perspex boxes- lab made/commercial
 Glass jars / boxes

43. FILLING AND SEALING OF
BOXES / JARS
 Boxes filled with mounting
fluid+0.4%sodium hydrosulphite
 Fill 1 cm above the specimen height
 Remove any air bubbles present
 Seal top of the box with Perspex cement

44. STORAGE OF SPECIMEN
 Easy and certain identification
 Separate container for each specimen
 Appropriately labeled
 Accompanied with reference book