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REVIEW article

Front. Vet. Sci.

Sec. Veterinary Clinical, Anatomical, and Comparative Pathology

Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1635706

Mastering the Art of Sectioning: A comprehensive Guide to Slide-Microtome Technology and Histological applications

Provisionally accepted
  • 1Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt
  • 2Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt
  • 3Matrouh University, Marsa Matruh, Egypt
  • 4Arish University, Elarish, Egypt
  • 5United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
  • 6University of Kirkuk, Kirkuk, Iraq
  • 7Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Bachok, Malaysia
  • 8King Faisal University, Al Ahsa, Saudi Arabia
  • 9Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

The well-known technique of microtomy, which is an essential cutting tool, was first developed for light and transmission electron microscope uses, but it is currently also utilized to prepare specimens for atomic force microscopy (AFM), ion microscopy using a focused ion beam (FIB), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Ultramicrotomy can only be used on soft substances and metals that are sufficiently ductile to be cut with a diamond knife. Before being sliced by a microtome, many soft materials must first go through numerous preparatory processes. The choice of microtome type and blade material depends on the specimen being cut and the desired thickness of the sections. The scope of this review is to provide an overview of the main types of microtomes and a comparison between various common types of microtomes, recognizing and classifying frequent difficulties in tissue sample preparation with a particular emphasis on sectioning and staining problems. This review will put your focus on some problems, such as thick section borders, prolonged fixation or excess aldehyde concentration, low ethanol concentration or incomplete fixation, and sections not sticking to slides, especially during staining. In addition, explaining the artifacts during the processing of specimens using a microtome along with discussing the applications, calibration, maintenance of the microtome, as well as its troubleshooting, in addition to future trends, as well as challenges for this tool. Studying these issues will elevate key insights regarding the necessity of exact fixation, temperature control, accurate sectioning techniques, and gentle handling of tissues for the quality of histological samples used for microscopic studies.

Keywords: Blades, artifacts, Microtome Types, Sectioning Techniques, Slides, Tissue preparation

Received: 26 May 2025; Accepted: 31 Jul 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Abd El-Aziz, Sobh, Saad, Morsy, El-Haroun, Abass, Abdul Kari, Thomas Mathew, Eissa and Eissa. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence:
Ehab El-Haroun, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates
El-Sayed Hemdan Eissa, Arish University, Elarish, Egypt

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.