E12 technique: Conventional epoxy resin sheet plastination.

Epoxy plastination techniques were developed to obtain thin transparent body slices with high anatomical detail. This is facilitated because the plastinated tissue is transparent and the topography of the anatomical structures well preserved. For this reason, thin epoxy slices are currently used for research purposes in both macroscopic and microscopic studies. The protocol for the conventional epoxy technique (E12) follows the main steps of plastination-specimen preparation, dehydration, impregnation and curing/casting. Preparation begins with selection of the specimen, followed by freezing and slicing. Either fresh or fixed (embalmed) tissue is suitable for epoxy plastination, while slice thickness is kept between 1.5 and 3 mm. Impregnation mixture is made of epoxy E12 resin plus E1 hardener (100 ppw; 28 ppw). This mixture is reactive and temperature sensitive, and for this reason, total impregnation time under vacuum at room laboratory temperature should not last for more than 20-24 hr. Casting of impregnated slices is done in either flat chambers or by the so-called sandwich method in either fresh mixture or the one used for impregnation. Curing is completed at 40°C to allow a complete polymerization of the epoxy-mixture. After curing, slices can be photographed, scanned or used for anatomical study under screen negatoscope, magnification glass or fluorescent microscope. Based on epoxy sheet plastination, many anatomical papers have recent observations of and/or clarification of anatomical concepts in different areas of medical expertice.

History and development of plastination techniques.

Plastination was a game-changing invention for macroscopic anatomical preparation. The method yielded dry, odourless, tangible and durable specimens which allowed new exhibition and teaching set-ups and paved the way for sophisticated preparations and spectacular positioning of specimens. Despite the impact of the new method, there have been similar techniques in place before. Exsiccation techniques, polymer embeddings and specimen impregnation with hardening substances were earlier methods which already included the main concepts that were later combined and refined in plastination. S10 silicone plastination, the technique most commonly known and applied, was followed by plastination methods suitable for research and sectional anatomy teaching. Numerous variations of sheet plastination techniques allow research applications and new ways of presenting topographic relations and mesoscopic insights. Besides the development of plastination techniques in sensu stricto, related techniques had a renaissance with new applications and developments, including corrosion casting and diaphonization methods. This brief review shall provide a historical context of plastination including some anecdotal spotlights on the ideas and innovations that lead to nowadays plastination techniques.

The International Society for Plastination.

The International Society for Plastination (ISP) was conceived as a means of defining plastination as an area of professional activity and serving as an agency for disseminating information relative to the art and science of plastination. In this paper, we present the purpose of ISP, the Journal of Plastination, the Plastination Index and the different international meetings organised by ISP.