兔膝关节骨组织石蜡切片的制备

Objective To aid at the histological evaluation of hyaline cartilage and bone, we provide a simple and rapid method of tissue preparation for articular joint histology. Methods A defect 3 mm in diameter and 4 mm in depth, penetrating the subchondral bone plate, was created on the medial femoral condyle of rabbit knee using a stainless-steel electric drill. The entire femoral condyles of the knees at 4 weeks after surgery were used to develop the tissue section technique. The tissues were fixed in 10% neutral-buffered formalin for 2 days, and decalcified in the solution containing 7% w/v AlCl3.6H2O, 5% Formic acid and 8.5% HCl for 7 days, and embedded in paraffin. Serial 5 μm sections were stained by hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and safranin-O and examined microscopically. Results Histological evaluation of the tissue sections revealed the morphological preservation of bone and cartilage cellular structures with proper HE staining characters in both repair and adjacent areas of femoral condyle. Conclusion The technique provided a reliable method for preparation of paraffin section of articular joint, which should facilitate the histological evaluation of hyaline cartilage of articular joint and bone.