X-Message-Number: 11136
Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 00:37:25 -0800 (PST)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: Tyrolean ice man

Authors
  Hess MW.  Klima G.  Pfaller K.  Kunzel KH.  Gaber O.
Institution
  Institute of Histology and Embryology, University of Innsbruck, Austria.
  
Title
  Histological investigations on the Tyrolean
  Ice Man.
Source
  American Journal of Physical Anthropology.  106(4):521-32, 1998 Aug.
Abstract
  The 5,200-year-old Tyrolean Ice Man discovered in 1991 in the Otztal Alps is
  the world's most ancient known human glacier mummy.
  Histological investigation was aimed at 1) optimizing
  specimen preparation and 2) documenting the preservation state of
  (sub)cellular components. Minute pieces of frozen tissue were removed
  endoscopically from rib bone and cartilage, major blood vessels, oral cavity
  and alimentary tract, liver, spleen, diaphragm, respiratory system, femoral
  muscle and nerve, sympathetic trunk, brain, and skin. Double fixation with
  glutaraldehyde followed by osmium tetroxide and embedding in Epon/Araldite
  epoxy resins proved to be the method of choice for both light and
  transmission electron microscopy combined with classical histochemistry. In
  particular, mild evacuation of the desiccated tissue was determined to be
  essential to ensure homogeneous infiltration with fixatives and resins; as a
  result, sections of excellent quality could be obtained with any kind of
  sample. With regard to the preservation degree of (sub)cellular components,
  distinct tissue-specific patterns were observed. There were highly intact
  skeletal and connective tissues proper, however, most interestingly, there
  were remarkably intact nervous tissue components as well. By contrast,
  epithelial, muscle, and reticular connective tissues as well as blood had
  generally disintegrated due to autolysis, freeze/thaw damage, and adipocere
  formation. For a tentative interpretation of these patterns, we considered
  general aspects of cryopreservation, such as physicochemical properties of
  subcellular constituents and tissue physiology.

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