A new method of producing casts for anatomical studies

The objective of the present study was to verify if polyurethane foam is a suitable material to make accurate casts of vessels and viscera, and to develop a method based on its use for anatomical studies. This new technique has been tested primarily on the lungs of different animals, but also on the renal, intestinal and equine digital vessels. It consisted of three steps: specimen preparation, injection of the foam and corrosion of the cast. All structures injected with foam were properly filled. The bronchial tree and the vessels could be observed up to their finer branches. The method is inexpensive, simple and requires no special equipment. The pre-casting procedure does not require perfusion of the specimens with formalin, or prolonged flushing with carbon dioxide gas or air for drying. The polyurethane foam does not need a catalyst. It is simply diluted with acetone, which does not cause shrinkage of the cast due to evaporation during hardening. The foam naturally expands into the cavities without high pressure of the inoculum, and hardens in just 2 or 3 h at room temperature. Only two drawbacks were observed. The first is the fact that multiple injections cannot be made in the same cavity since the foam solidifies quickly; the second is the slight brittleness of the cast, due to the low elasticity of polyurethane foam. In conclusion, polyurethane foam was a suitable material for producing accurate casts of vessels and viscera.