Comparative analysis of asbestos body and fiber content in formalin-fixed vs. paraffin-embedded lung tissue

In this comparative mineral analytic study, the authors focused on the potential significance of differing specimen preparations (formalin-fixed wet lung versus paraffin wax-embedded block extraction) investigating paired samples. The results generally reflect numerically higher fiber burdens in samples analyzed from wet lungs compared with counterpart paraffin wax tissue. Mineral analysis by electron microscopic analysis remains the most objective measure of the respirable fraction of mineral dust as it correlates most directly with disease risk.