Acetone - more extractive. More likely than ethanol to be absolute when taken off the shelf. Inducing hardness in them gives them the mechanical support needed for sectioning. Plasticity - resiliency as opposed to brittleness. Cryosectioning Commonly done for light microscopy.
Preservation is usually sufficient for a rapid diagnosis.
Provides sufficient support to section to about 3 micrometers minimum. Paraffin can infiltrate deeply into tissue, allowing large blocks and ultimately large sections to be obtained. TEM Tissue infiltrated with a resin which is polymerized by heat, chemicals, or U.V. Provides support to section infiltrated tissue to about 50 nm minimum. The required thinness of the sample and the friction during cutting limits the section size to about 1 square mm maximum. Often done at low temp.