Description
A microtome is a laboratory instrument used to cut extremely thin slices of material, called sections. These are usually cut from specimens of human or animal tissue (embedded in a soft material like paraffin wax), and are produced for inspection under a microscope.

In this sliding model, the specimen is advanced up the inclined (1:20) slide by a micrometer screw (0.3mm thread) to be cut. One division on the micrometer head represents a 1μm section thickness. The knife and specimen carriers slide on five-point bearings in accordance with the principles of kinematic design, as perceived by the microtome's inventor, Prof. R. Thoma[s] of Heidelberg (c.f. H. Darwin and the Cambridge Rocker).

This instrument was produced before 1880 and was "the microtome we are most accustomed to" (M. Forster and F.M. Balfour: Elements of Embryology). But it was not 'automatic' and did not produce sections in the desired ribbon, hence the interest in later models like Threlfall's microtome of 1883.
15/11/2022
Created by: Guey-Mei Hsu on 15/11/2022