Preservation of Haemal Nodes Fixed by Means of Two Different Aldehyde Fixatives: a Scanning Electron Microscopic Study

glutaraldehyde is the fixative most commonly used in electron microscope studies of biological tissues, however it is often necessary to use samples which were not fixed in this fixative, even with the usual uncertainty of the results that may be obtained. the fixation is the more delicate step of the sample processing. therefore in this work, the quality of preservation of haemal nodes fixed with two classic aldehyde fixatives: formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde we have compared under the scanning electron microscope. our results showed that both fixatives were successful in preserving the morphology of haemal nodes components; however glutaraldehyde conferred satisfactory results mainly in the preservation of parenchymal cells, whereas formaldehyde was better for preservation of stromal fibres.