[FraserC]

in reply to: Labelling system recommendations #4108

Hello,
There was a thread on this a few months ago, including some links to suppliers

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[FraserC]

in reply to: Institutions Plastinating in the UK & Ireland #3638

Hello,
St Andrews here. We don’t plastinate. we have a few old plastinated specimens less then 20 that we don’t really use.

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: Potiboy Pump serviceing #3609

Thank you Gina,
I couldn’t remember the name of Omega and Google was not being helpful. IAS for the win again.

[FraserC]

in reply to: Storage of prosections and how to stop material drying out #3552

Hello,
If we have prosections out for that long I would dunk them in a soak tank for a day or so before returning them to storage.
The dunk tank just contains our normal wetting fluid: 50% alcohol, 10% glycerol, 1% dodge biocide, 29% water.
We also store in individual, sealed, plasic bags with aspray of wetting fluid. No mould problems here and this does a reasonable job of sorting out most drying. If something is dryed out to an extreme, then there is always the good old Fabric softener method, but that is an invitation for mould.

all the best

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: Degreasing bones? #2815

Hi, not tried PVC, but would imagine it to be very similar. With varnish if you use more than one coat on very white bones it makes them look and feel like they are plastic ones.

[FraserC]

in reply to: Degreasing bones? #2813

Hello,
For new bones: if “Hot water macerating ” don’t have the temp too high; keep below 80 celcius. Then Hydrogen peroxide (10% aqueus solution) for6-8 hours.
For Old bones: A brief trip back to the macerator. Then back to the hydrogen peroxide. This will also bleach then so dont leave too long, unless you are going for the sahara look.
Varnishing them after this, also helps keep everything in.

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: Corrosion Casting #2513

Hello,
Yet to do it myself but had an in-depth converstion with a person who regularly does (from serbia). He used Methyl-methacrylate (cold polymerisation) as the resin, obtained form dental suppliers, with powdered car paint for colour. His tip was to mix the resin and catalyst in a syringe immediatly before injecting. His prefered macerating aget wsa Potasium Hydroxide – Aparently works better on fats than Sodium hydroxide.

Thats all i have, no practical experience but i thought it worth sharing.

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: Corrosion Casting #2512

Hello,
Yet to do it myself but had an in-depth converstion with a person who regularly does (from serbia). He used Methyl-methacrylate (cold polymerisation) as the resin, with powdered car paint for colour. His tip was to mix the resin and catalyst in a syringe immediatly before injecting. His prefered macerating aget wsa Potasium Hydroxide – Aparently works better on fats than Sodium hydroxide.

Thats all i have, no practical experience but i though tit woth sharing.

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: The Forum #1427

Hello,
I use the forum and certainly read most of what is posted. It has been useful in resolving some of the idiosyncratic technical issues that come up within the anatomy community and with the experience of some members here it is an invaluable resource. I would not feel comfortable putting details of anatomical procedures on a medium such as Facebook, no matter how private the group is deemed to be.
Facebook is for social activities, the forum is a work resource.
just my 2 cents

[FraserC]

in reply to: Embalming the brain #1403

Hi Steven,
I have never seen any indication on the brain of the passage of the trocar and everything in the orbit remains intact. (Assuming you are not too violent in your probing). Everything just seems to be moved out the way.

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: Embalming the brain #1399

Hi Steven,
We inject into our brains with this method. We use a long narrow trocar attached to our embalming pump. Pass the trocar through the medial canthus, medial to the globe until you reach the back of the orbit (you’ll know when you hit bone). Then it is a case of have a bit of a poke about until you find the fissure and your trocar disappears deeper. This will get easier and less pokey with experience.
Usually only requires a few hundred ml. on each side.

An alternative method is to drill a small hole in each parietal bone in order to access the cranial cavity and then inject fluid into the brain/ ventricles that way.

All the best

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: Blade Disposal. Please Help. #1204

Hi Brian,
Our accident rates have actually fallen since we introduced the blade removers.
However someone on the school safety committee seems to have a vendetta against them and “feels” they are unsafe and should be removed.
So we have to gather enough evidence (above falling accident rates) to batter them into submission.

[FraserC]

in reply to: Blade Disposal. Please Help. #1201

Please pass this round to as many people as you can think of. The more responses we get the better informed we will be.

Cheers

Fraser

[FraserC]

in reply to: Body Mass Index #1162

Hi Gary,
In the first instance I’d use absolute weight to make a determination.
In your case 18 stone (114kg ) is a massive amount of weight to be moving around and I would rule acceptance out on that alone. That and anything else over 100kg.

We use BMI as a bit of a guide in conjuction with information from family and doctors to form a more complete picture. We dont set arbitrary limits as there will always be exceptions (think of a 5’6″ body builder with a bmi of 37)

We do tell them that they may not be accepted if they are too heavy or too thin but do not set targets.

[Author]

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