I have recently needed, on the removal of various pathologic tissues, to arrive at immediate diagnosis, and being in the average country office, without microtome and the accompanying conveniences of a city laboratory, I have been forced to improvise some method to meet the conditions.
After having removed the tissue I take a small piece, about 1 cm. square, and place it in the jaws of a common tissue forceps about 1 inch from the end, and then wind a small rubber band around the points of the forceps; the tissues are thus held securely, as shown in the illustration. Next I freeze the tissues, which is done with a common tube of ethyl chlorid; after freezing thoroughly I trim off most of the section roughly so that the surface of the tissue is about 2 mm. above the jaws of the forceps. It is again frozen, and a sharp