Microwave processing and ethanol-based fixation in forensic pathology: an addendum of further scanning electron microscope observations

SEM microscopy on samples of tissue fixed with alcohol-based fixative and processed using a microwave device confirmed the validity of the fixation procedure. The details are more clearer with respect to those obtainable with formalin fixatives. It was interesting to work on sections prepared for normal histological processing because the metallization indispensable for SEM occurred without difficulty. All together, the procedure appears to be very flexible and adapted to the complexity of forensic investigation, above all, when the tissue is altered by autolytic phenomena.