Preservation of Internal Organs of Goat by An Alternative Method to Plastination

Abstract

2 Department of Biotechnology, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agency, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh ABSTRACT: Plastination is a process of long-term preservation of biological tissue. This process is gaining popularity for its benefits as a teaching and research tool in anatomy. The process is based on replacement of water and fat by forced impregnation, after replacing the water by an intermediate solvent, to produce hard, dry and odorless specimens. However, due to the specialized equipment and expensive chemicals, such as polymer, that are needed for plastination, we desired to simplify the process and embed the samples completely in paraffin wax. In this process, the water and fat were replaced by paraffin, yielding specimens that can be touched, that do not smell or decay, and that even retain most properties of the original sample. Various freshlycollected visceral organs of goat were used for preparing specimens. These organs were dissected out to expose different gross anatomical features. The specimens were fixed in 10% formalin, hardened in a deep freeze, dehydrated and dried in freeze dryer, impregnated with melted paraffin, cured, and then stored at room temperature for further use as educational tool. The prepared wax-impregnated specimens were clean, dry, odorless, durable, non-toxic, and can be handled by bare hands and do not require any special storage care. This method will strengthen the appearance, clarity of surface anatomy, and description of other parts, as well as practical demonstrations in undergraduate teaching, and enhance the anatomical museum collection. The anatomical accuracy and durability of these specimens make them powerful tools to accelerate knowledge acquisition, and strengthens diagnostic abilities for veterinary students utilizing a wider variety of learning strategies.