page_title: Microtome
section_title: Cryomicrotome
hierarchical_section_title: Microtome / Types / Cryomicrotome
caption_attribution_description: This is the frozen section room equivalent to the microtome which are unrefrigerated cutters we use upstairs to cut the routine paraffin embedded specimens.
context_page_description: A microtome is a tool used to cut extremely thin slices of material, known as sections. Important in science, microtomes are used in microscopy, allowing for the preparation of samples for observation under transmitted light or electron radiation.
  Microtomes use steel, glass, or diamond blades depending upon the specimen being sliced and the desired thickness of the sections being cut. Steel blades are used to prepare sections of animal or plant tissues for light microscopy histology. Glass knives are used to slice sections for light microscopy and to slice very thin sections for electron microscopy. Industrial grade diamond knives are used to slice hard materials such as bone, teeth and plant matter for both light microscopy and for electron microscopy. Gem quality diamond knives are used for slicing thin sections for electron microscopy.
  Microtomy is a method for the preparation of thin sections for materials such as bones, minerals and teeth, and an alternative to electropolishing and ion milling. Microtome sections can be made thin enough to section a human hair across its breadth, with section thickness between 50 nm and 100 μm.
context_section_description: For the cutting of frozen samples, many rotary microtomes can be adapted to cut in a liquid-nitrogen chamber, in a so-called cryomicrotome setup. The reduced temperature allows the hardness of the sample to be increased, such as by undergoing a glass transition, which allows the preparation of semi-thin samples. However the sample temperature and the knife temperature must be controlled in order to optimise the resultant sample thickness.
caption: A cryomicrotome
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