Patent ID: 7234308

Claim:
An apparatus for quickly forming and freezing a tissue specimen into a desired shape, while preserving a desired orientation of said tissue specimen, said apparatus adapted to be used with a cryostat having a cold rail with a top anvil, comprising: a pre-frozen, metallic cold mold having an external surface, a top, a bottom, a front, a rear, two opposing sides, a plurality of openings in said front, rear and opposing sides, a plurality of wells formed within said mold each terminating in a said opening, each said opening having a channel circumferentially formed about a well top opening, each said well having a floor, said well top opening, and side walls, said well side walls determining a well depth, each said well adapted to receiving a said tissue specimen and an embedding medium, each said cold mold top and bottom adapted to being engaged by said cryostat anvil; a pre-chilled chuck having a planar top, an opposing bottom, a plurality of sides and a plurality of flanges projecting downwardly from the chuck bottom, said chuck top having a plurality corrugations formed thereon, said chuck top adapted to fit within each said mold top channel; wherein the chuck is adapted to being placed on the cold rail, said chuck flanges holding the chuck in place on the cold rail.